I just moved to Perth and I’m shocked by how hard it is to make friends – it’s a lonely city

An Australian woman who moved from her home state to Perth has noticed something unusual about the city.

She said Perth is a “lonely place” and she struggles to make friends or have meaningful conversations with the people she meets.

The 29-year-old likes many things about the WA capital, but said her experience would be greatly enhanced by a good circle of friends.

Many said they felt the same way after moving to Perth, calling it ‘insular’ and ‘cliquey’; However, others said they found it ‘warm and welcoming’.

“As someone who recently moved to Perth and is finding it difficult to make friends and have meaningful connections here, I wanted to know if this is a general thing or if I need to branch out more?” she asked.

“If you’re not from here or have moved from other states, can you tell me?”

The woman asked for tips on making friends, because she is ‘dead to it’.

“There are good things about Perth that I enjoy. “I wish I had more friends/a network so I could enjoy myself more,” she said.

Reddit users agreed that it was difficult to make ‘meaningful’ friends in Perth as many people complaining don’t go out much and ‘stick to their friend groups’.

‘People stay indoors more often, especially because prices are so high. I moved here from England a few years ago,” said one expat.

‘I built a small group of friends, but I always had to be the one organizing and pushing things. From the moment I stopped taking it, it didn’t bother anyone anymore and I haven’t seen or heard from anyone for a while.’

‘I know so many adults who only hang out with their friends from primary/high school. Even if you try to interact with them, you’re on the ‘outside’ and can’t really fit in,” a second explained.

‘People will say it’s the same everywhere, but that’s not the case. I have no problem branching out and making friends in Melbourne, but Perth is really cliquey and can be an incredibly lonely place,” a third replied.

Many Perth residents agree they are ‘insular’ and ‘cliquey’ (stock image)

“People are friendly enough, don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of acquaintances, but no one is really in the ‘market for friends’.”

Someone said he moved to Perth two years ago to study and felt exactly the same way.

‘It seems like everyone has their own group of friends. While people here seem nice and friendly on the surface, it would of course be nice to make deeper and more meaningful friendships,” they said.

But not everyone who moved found it a lonely place; one woman pointed out that there are many more ‘cliquey’ cities in Australia, such as Adelaide.

“It doesn’t make sense that Perth is ‘more cliquey’ than any other part of the country,” one Reddit user wrote.

“I’ve lived in other cities in Oz (locally Perth) and I found it pretty much the same in Brisbane and Melbourne in terms of the difficulty of making friends,” said another.

‘You can make friends with almost anyone quickly, as Perth is a pretty laid-back people and often just accepts you. But the deeper connections are a lot harder to find in my opinion,” one person added.