Embrace the Suck: Why You Should Try to Make New Friends on Base

But let’s be honest, it’s not always easy to make friends. So how do you find friends when you’ve just PCS’ed?

Here are a few ideas!

• Check your installation’s paper, Facebook page, or website for lists of spouses’ groups or clubs.
• Visit your local library or coffee shop and check their bulletin board or newsletter for groups that may be meeting (I found the above homeschooling group from a flyer I saw at Starbucks!)
• Get off the installation. Visit the local sights. Invite a neighbor or new acquaintance to explore with you.
• Most bases have briefings for new military spouses or those new to an area. The active duty member should be receiving this information, but if not, can easily find out for you. Ask your spouse to remind you when there’s one coming up, gather up your bravery, and go! You never know who you might meet.
• Volunteer! This is one of the best ways I’ve found to meet others. Working together for a common cause is a great way to break the ice.

Though it may not happen the same way for you as it did for me, I hope that you come across your own “Tara”!

 “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ― C.S. Lewis

(Some content from my book You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse, published by InJoy, Inc. Used with permission.)