I want to meet people in East London. Or anywhere!

This is very strange for me, and I feel pretty awkward about this, but I just don't know what to do anymore. I am taking a year off school and ended up coming over here working at a primary school in East London, thinking I would meet students by housing with them.

I didn't know about council tax. So I've ended up in not living with students, or even people my age, and am wondering how I'm going to meet people. Basically I'm wondering if there's anyone out there with suggestions for how to meet people out here. Living in east london has proved to be difficult because it seems like everything happens in the city. I hope people aren't as weirded out by this as I am, and that I can start hanging out with people my age!

Thanks in advance for any help!

If you take a look at www.gumtree.com there are discussion boards for people from all over the world who are stuck in London with no one else to talk to.  Obviously take the usual precautions when meeting up, but I have met some lovely people from there, and my best mate met his current (mad Finnish) girlfriend there (he was only looking for friends!).  You will find young people from Australia, America, Europe, all over on there, and I am sure you will be able to find someone who is in a similar situation, even if you only chat on line.

Good luck.

Vicky

I would recommend getting involved in as many groups, volunteer or somehow get yourself out there as much as you can!  The goal is to come into contact with as many people as you can, and just be your friendly self.

Check out meetup.com, there is a huge variety of groups on there.  If you speak another language (or are interested in learning), try looking for a language exchange partner.  Also, put yourself out there and invite your coworkers out for drinks (or some food) after work, some of my best friends I have made here are through work. 

Good luck!!

Hiya and welcome -- I'm not in your demographic but another good website is http://flavorpill.com/london which is a weekly listings of events.

It's funny...I wish I could meet more people around my age but all who come my way are probably around your age. Maybe we could swap? 

Where in East London are you? The epicenter of all things hip is still Shoreditch/Hoxton, which is east but I gather you live futher out? If you aren't able to travel central then it would helpful to know where you are.

The other thing I can suggest is sports- and exercise-related activities. There are plenty of one off classes/sessions you can take. At least this provides a shared-interest.

Thank you all for the help. I live in Leyton, work in Limehouse, but would not be unwilling to go elsewhere if there were somewhere I could find people to be with that are my age.

The main trouble with finding people is my age. As a 19-year-old not going to Uni, I am much younger than my coworkers (some of whom have CHILDREN my age!) and am not part of the University life. I am looking into enrolling in some short courses, but I fear that they will still be populated by professionals and people much older than me, as people my age are doing undergraduate work.

I already play on an amateur football, which I absolutely love, but still, the majority of the players are much older than me and we don't see each other outside of football. I would love to find more athletic activities to do, but just don't know where to look. More football would be awesome, but I'm an athletic person, so anything would be enjoyable for me.

Thanks for the help, and hopefully you have more ideas!

Living in Leyton...liking football...you could always start going to Orient matches, and meeting up with others before and after the games.  You could put the feelers out with the supporters club or discussion boards.


Vicky

As mentioned before, meetup.com.

http://www.meetup.com/cities/gb/london/#Recreation

the universities where I live in the UK will usually allow anyone to join their various organisations, whether you're a student or not.  Many of the societies that my fiance is involved in (he's a final year student) have a significant number of ex-students, whether graduated or just no longer attending uni. So maybe joining a uni society is an option for you...