As of a month ago I moved to a small country town in Australia (population 2000 people) to work for a year. In my profession it was quite difficult to get work, so I applied for a position replacing someone on maternity leave. The contract is for a year.
I am really enjoying a job and this is a great place to start out. The town is very pretty and the people are very friendly, both at work and in the community. There is a very strong sense of community. I'm also saving alot more money than I would living in Melbourne due to rent being a quarter of the price.
The only problem is that I haven't really made in friends. I chat to people at work and seem to be developing good working relationships with them. However, most of the people there are quite a bit older than me (I'm 27 and alot of people are in their late 40s +). The few ones that are around my age all have young families so rush home after work to relieve their spouses and help out with the kids.
people have suggested I go to football training (Australian rules football) as that would be a good way to meet people. The only problem is that I am absolutely terrible at football, like embarrassingly so. I try telling people this but they say go anyway. I am even worse at cricket and can't play tennis either. Those are the only sports in the town. I used to be a very good swimmer but the only people in the swimming club are little kids. I used to box alot but there is no boxing (or even a gym).
So can anyone suggest how I can go about meeting people and making friends here? I am quite a good conversationalists so I think that once I get my foot in the door so to speak, I should be alright.
There is one other issue, and I think that part of this is me being a little arrogant and misguided. I have a stereotype of people in country Autralia as being a bit ignorant and sheltered. We call them bogans here. They are similiar to the rednecks of the US. Racist and conservative. I grew up in the country (though no where near as small as where I am living now) but lived in Melbourne for 9 years. Whilst growing up I always disliked the mentality of country Australia. i guess what I am getting at is that I think alot of the people here would have quite different values, interests and viewpoints to myself. I know I shouldn't judge and just wait and see once I get to know people but I do worry I will have difficulty meeting kindred spirits.
The other issue is that there are very few women my age. Honestly, since living here for a month I can count on two hands (at the most) how many attractive women I have seen here. Most people around my age immigrate to the city after high school and only really return to raise a family or retire. So there are alot of school aged kids (which is an obvious no no) and people in the age group of 40+. There are some young people but they are generally tradies and farmers (women don't normally make up these occupations).
So how should I go about meeting women, when I see so few around? I went down to Melbourne and flirted with some girls and got some numbers at a party. but honestly, the best I can hope for when I occassionally go to Melbourne is a the odd one night stand. I don't mind not being a relationship for a year as after my last one ended I have enjoyed spending time focusing on myself plus have had to do alot of work to put that relationship behind. That is not to say that if I met a girl I was blown away by I wouldn't have a relationship. However, I would like to have sex now and then. I don't like thinking of the prospect of no sex for a year. It has already been two months without sex and I am getting ansty.
Sorry for the long post guys.
TLDR: how do you make friends and meet women in a town of only 2000 people?
I am really enjoying a job and this is a great place to start out. The town is very pretty and the people are very friendly, both at work and in the community. There is a very strong sense of community. I'm also saving alot more money than I would living in Melbourne due to rent being a quarter of the price.
The only problem is that I haven't really made in friends. I chat to people at work and seem to be developing good working relationships with them. However, most of the people there are quite a bit older than me (I'm 27 and alot of people are in their late 40s +). The few ones that are around my age all have young families so rush home after work to relieve their spouses and help out with the kids.
people have suggested I go to football training (Australian rules football) as that would be a good way to meet people. The only problem is that I am absolutely terrible at football, like embarrassingly so. I try telling people this but they say go anyway. I am even worse at cricket and can't play tennis either. Those are the only sports in the town. I used to be a very good swimmer but the only people in the swimming club are little kids. I used to box alot but there is no boxing (or even a gym).
So can anyone suggest how I can go about meeting people and making friends here? I am quite a good conversationalists so I think that once I get my foot in the door so to speak, I should be alright.
There is one other issue, and I think that part of this is me being a little arrogant and misguided. I have a stereotype of people in country Autralia as being a bit ignorant and sheltered. We call them bogans here. They are similiar to the rednecks of the US. Racist and conservative. I grew up in the country (though no where near as small as where I am living now) but lived in Melbourne for 9 years. Whilst growing up I always disliked the mentality of country Australia. i guess what I am getting at is that I think alot of the people here would have quite different values, interests and viewpoints to myself. I know I shouldn't judge and just wait and see once I get to know people but I do worry I will have difficulty meeting kindred spirits.
The other issue is that there are very few women my age. Honestly, since living here for a month I can count on two hands (at the most) how many attractive women I have seen here. Most people around my age immigrate to the city after high school and only really return to raise a family or retire. So there are alot of school aged kids (which is an obvious no no) and people in the age group of 40+. There are some young people but they are generally tradies and farmers (women don't normally make up these occupations).
So how should I go about meeting women, when I see so few around? I went down to Melbourne and flirted with some girls and got some numbers at a party. but honestly, the best I can hope for when I occassionally go to Melbourne is a the odd one night stand. I don't mind not being a relationship for a year as after my last one ended I have enjoyed spending time focusing on myself plus have had to do alot of work to put that relationship behind. That is not to say that if I met a girl I was blown away by I wouldn't have a relationship. However, I would like to have sex now and then. I don't like thinking of the prospect of no sex for a year. It has already been two months without sex and I am getting ansty.
Sorry for the long post guys.
TLDR: how do you make friends and meet women in a town of only 2000 people?
