How do you find new friends when you move if your only contacts are doctors,dentists etc.?
We have recently moved from Savoie to Seine et Marne (near Coulommiers and Meaux) and need some friends - any nationality. We are 72 yrs old and nice sociable people who enjoy life and are feeling on our own. We are in the wrong age group to meet people through school, work contacts etc. and although we love walking (one reason we were in Savoie) my husband is now disabled and we cannot join a walking club.
Is there anybody living in our area who might like to make contact, We live near Disneyland where one of our sons works, and are mobile.
Your local Marie will have details of all ex Pats in the area, don't forget also that Dutch people ALL speak English and try the local tea dances, these occur in almost any town and even some of the Villages. Notice boards in every Village, Supermarkets have details and again the Marie. Good luck C.
Hi Maggie
Thankyou for the suggestion. I certainly will - we love Fontainebleau and were there only recently to visit the glass blowers there - nice things; I am a glass engraver so wanted to see them. We used to go lots of times with the children to climb in the forest when we lived in Paris,(when they were little) and had a family reunion there last summer for fun. I've given everybody the wrong impression; atually we like lots of things, not just walking but one has to start somewhere!
See you sometime!
Julian
Thankyou Jen
I will e-mail you later. It would be nice to make contact. One of our daughters-in_law also sells Phoenix cards which I think are really nice. I don't think age is very important; I just put it in to give some idea about us. Also the walking. Actually we like lots of things, and i am a glass engraver!
Julian x
Hi Katrina
I don't think age is really important - I just put it in to give some idea of us . Our first son works at Disney - Peter Cole - and was one of the first members. He is duty manager there and sorts out problems. Do you know him? What do you do there?
We live about 20 mins from Meaux near Coulommiers. It would be nice to meet up if you would like to.
Julian
Hi Sheila
I quite agree about age , but you have to start somewhere. I put it in to give some idea about us and what we're like. Actually were interested in lots of things not just rambling -theatre, music sightseeing, exhibitions etc. and I am a glass engraver, so I have given everybody the wrong impression!
Thanks for the reply
Julian
Thankyou for the help. We have done the aperitif with the neighbours who are sweet, but I will try this site. Already I have had lots of good suggestions from other members of SFN. brilliant
julian
Thankyou Deidre
I certainly will, so far I have only had our neighbours round for a drink.
Julian
May I just add a short comment here about age? I don't think it actually matters what age you are. You can still be good friends. I am 55, my husband is 62. For example, last weekend our neighbours' adult children invited us over for New Year's Eve (their parents who are roughly our age were elsewhere). Yes, we probably were the oldest there, but we still had lots of fun (I even threw a few moves when the dancing started!). Equally, many of my daughters' friends are friends with me too. In short, you can benefit by having friends many years younger or older than you.
I work at Disney and live in Meaux, too! Although I’m probably not the right age group for what you’re looking for 
But you’ve come to the right place - there’s always someone who can help 
Hi Julian, There is a super English Speaking Association in Fontainebleau (77) called Crossroads. I was one of its earliest members around 25 years ago, and although I live and work ( I am a dentist :-( ) in Corbeil-Essonnes (91), I have made many friends through this group.The website is www.crossroadsinfontainebleau.org The members are of all ages and walks of life, and they organise many events regularly .. including walking groups. New members are always welcomed with open arms, so why not give it a go, and maybe we'll meet up sometime in the future. Maggie
There is also a British Church of England Church in Paris near the British Embassy - there is a list of English speaking churches of various denominations here http://www.parisfranceguide.com:81/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=75
Hi Julian
I got approached in my supermarket by a lady the other week who had heard me talking English and wanted to know if she could pop around for tea now and then to practice English as she has bilingual granddaughters! So maybe pop a note in your supermarket or another shop that lets you put notes up saying that you'd be happy to meet people who want to practive their english and let you practice your french! Another good way is to start frequenting the same cafe - before long you'll know all the other regulars :)
Good luck anyway - I'm sure you'll feel far less isolated soon. We're not very far but with 2 small children and a home business I struggle to have any kind of social life!
Hello there,
After a few months here I decided I has to get to know more people and went along to AVF, I think there is an AVF in every town, who have been so welcoming to me. They run many activites and you can pick and choose what suits you so you should find something you will enjoy at the same time as you are getting to know people. We also have had neighbours around for apero and found this worked really well.
Julian, Meaux is not far from Paris, right? There are thousands of Brits and Americans in Paris and one of their centers of activity is the American Church. I live near Orléans so I don't get to Paris very often and never visited the American church so someone else can probably tell you where it is. There is also an American library and a program called "Bloom where you are planted". I don't know how to contact those people but others on SFN must know. Just a few thoughts.
Go to your mairie and ask for a list of associations in your area - there are usually dozens... you are sure to find something you'll like from playing bridge to just about anything.
Other than that, pop a note in your local library or bookshop to see if anybody wants to do language exchanges.
Hi Julian
Start with your neighbours perhaps. We asked the same question a couple of years ago of a French friend and he said, "open you door" ie invite the neighbours for an apero. He id give the advice of maybe not inviting 2 at the same time just in case there was an old family feud.
It worked for us and we are now on kissing terms! :-)
Good luck
Dave
Near Beziers so too far to pop in I'm afraid.