I know what you're saying. I moved here a year ago myself, and I was terrified of this. But my partner and I just... started going out to things. It did admittedly start at reddit meetups. Then, through some reddit meetups, we made friends with particular people. Then some of those particular people invited us to parties they had, where we met friends of theirs who weren't From The Internet. Then we got invited to their parties and gatherings. As of now, a year after we moved here, I have a reasonably solid network of people I'd consider friends, and I don't actually often attend reddit meetups anymore. Not that I avoid it, it's just... I don't seem to have as much time!

I find the biggest thing for me was getting over my fear of conversations. I used to fear an awkward conversation about bullshit - hated the idea of talking about the weather, or your job, or sports, or whatever, because it all seems so mundane. But what I've personally found, is that when you first meet someone, you can't just jump straight into your aspirations or life dreams or favourite topics every time. You have to work through those bullshit standard topics sometimes.

And you won't make friends the first time you meet someone. I usually meet someone multiple times before I really get to know them. I'm also terrible with names, and memory of past conversations which can make things awkward, but hey! I try! And so far, through talking to people and saying "yes" to catching up every now and then - and not fearing awkward conversations, I feel pretty happy to say I've made lots of friends.