Southampton Uni - struggling to make friends?

Hi there! Any advice on the social parts of Soton?

Posting here not for myself, but on behalf of my SO who began attending there recently.

Normally this isn’t something I’d ever get involved in, and I’m the first to back down when it comes to letting friendships and relationships form naturally, but he's feeling pretty dismal about this and I’m not sure what advice I can offer to help.

He’s a fairly sociable person - sure, shy sometimes - but it seems like the people he’s met so far either actively keep to themselves and aren’t interested in conversation or have already established friendships and friend groups.

He’s in one of the more sociable halls and attended the fresher's events and activities, but he either felt largely ignored or like he just didn’t fit in there. Perhaps we come from a more outgoing area, but the people in his halls don’t even say hi.

And - absolutely! - People are nervous, they’re in an unfamiliar environment, and everybody reacts to new people and events in different ways. He attended some of the mixers and fun introductory things (such as the videogaming event) and still didn’t feel right there.

Of course, it does take guts and you have to be actively involved in order to make and pursue friendships! But it moreso feels like we’re looking in the wrong places. I’m trying to encourage him to go check out some of the pubs and so forth, but he’s heavily reluctant to go on his own.

Are there any particularly sociable parts/places in Southampton that you think he’d have an easier time meeting new people who aren’t already totally buddied up? He studies German and Spanish, so he’s gonna try and find some new people there for now.

Just honestly confused about how so many people seem to have befriended each other on what seemed to be the first day.

Hi there! Any advice on the social parts of Soton?

Posting here not for myself, but on behalf of my SO who began attending there recently.

Normally this isn’t something I’d ever get involved in, and I’m the first to back down when it comes to letting friendships and relationships form naturally, but he's feeling pretty dismal about this and I’m not sure what advice I can offer to help.

He’s a fairly sociable person - sure, shy sometimes - but it seems like the people he’s met so far either actively keep to themselves and aren’t interested in conversation or have already established friendships and friend groups.

He’s in one of the more sociable halls and attended the fresher's events and activities, but he either felt largely ignored or like he just didn’t fit in there. Perhaps we come from a more outgoing area, but the people in his halls don’t even say hi.

And - absolutely! - People are nervous, they’re in an unfamiliar environment, and everybody reacts to new people and events in different ways. He attended some of the mixers and fun introductory things (such as the videogaming event) and still didn’t feel right there.

Of course, it does take guts and you have to be actively involved in order to make and pursue friendships! But it moreso feels like we’re looking in the wrong places. I’m trying to encourage him to go check out some of the pubs and so forth, but he’s heavily reluctant to go on his own.

Are there any particularly sociable parts/places in Southampton that you think he’d have an easier time meeting new people who aren’t already totally buddied up? He studies German and Spanish, so he’s gonna try and find some new people there for now.

Just honestly confused about how so many people seem to have befriended each other on what seemed to be the first day.

Hi there! Any advice on the social parts of Soton?

Posting here not for myself, but on behalf of my SO who began attending there recently.

Normally this isn’t something I’d ever get involved in, and I’m the first to back down when it comes to letting friendships and relationships form naturally, but he's feeling pretty dismal about this and I’m not sure what advice I can offer to help.

He’s a fairly sociable person - sure, shy sometimes - but it seems like the people he’s met so far either actively keep to themselves and aren’t interested in conversation or have already established friendships and friend groups.

He’s in one of the more sociable halls and attended the fresher's events and activities, but he either felt largely ignored or like he just didn’t fit in there. Perhaps we come from a more outgoing area, but the people in his halls don’t even say hi.

And - absolutely! - People are nervous, they’re in an unfamiliar environment, and everybody reacts to new people and events in different ways. He attended some of the mixers and fun introductory things (such as the videogaming event) and still didn’t feel right there.

Of course, it does take guts and you have to be actively involved in order to make and pursue friendships! But it moreso feels like we’re looking in the wrong places. I’m trying to encourage him to go check out some of the pubs and so forth, but he’s heavily reluctant to go on his own.

Are there any particularly sociable parts/places in Southampton that you think he’d have an easier time meeting new people who aren’t already totally buddied up? He studies German and Spanish, so he’s gonna try and find some new people there for now.

Just honestly confused about how so many people seem to have befriended each other on what seemed to be the first day.

Hi there! Any advice on the social parts of Soton?

Posting here not for myself, but on behalf of my SO who began attending there recently.

Normally this isn’t something I’d ever get involved in, and I’m the first to back down when it comes to letting friendships and relationships form naturally, but he's feeling pretty dismal about this and I’m not sure what advice I can offer to help.

He’s a fairly sociable person - sure, shy sometimes - but it seems like the people he’s met so far either actively keep to themselves and aren’t interested in conversation or have already established friendships and friend groups.

He’s in one of the more sociable halls and attended the fresher's events and activities, but he either felt largely ignored or like he just didn’t fit in there. Perhaps we come from a more outgoing area, but the people in his halls don’t even say hi.

And - absolutely! - People are nervous, they’re in an unfamiliar environment, and everybody reacts to new people and events in different ways. He attended some of the mixers and fun introductory things (such as the videogaming event) and still didn’t feel right there.

Of course, it does take guts and you have to be actively involved in order to make and pursue friendships! But it moreso feels like we’re looking in the wrong places. I’m trying to encourage him to go check out some of the pubs and so forth, but he’s heavily reluctant to go on his own.

Are there any particularly sociable parts/places in Southampton that you think he’d have an easier time meeting new people who aren’t already totally buddied up? He studies German and Spanish, so he’s gonna try and find some new people there for now.

Just honestly confused about how so many people seem to have befriended each other on what seemed to be the first day.