Founder who moved to Bengaluru shares secret to making real friends in a new city

The founder shared that when she relocated to Bengaluru in 2020, she barely knew anyone, but now the city feels like home to her.

Moving to a new city for work often comes with the paradox of being surrounded by people but feeling completely alone. When one founder relocated to Bengaluru in 2020, she quickly realised that standard networking options, such as meeting for drinks or small office talks, felt repetitive and hollow. In a tweet, she shared how she made friends through group workouts, such as boxing and dance sessions, adding that it helped her break the ice and build the community she was craving.

The founder in Bengaluru, whose post about making new friends resonated with people. (X/@surbhiskjain)

“If you are new to any city, this is for you. When I moved to Bangalore in 2020, I barely knew anyone. There were a few familiar faces, but most of them lived far away. I had come to the city with big dreams of starting something new, and I joined a company to begin with. My colleagues were nice, but they were colleagues, you know?” wrote IIT alum and founder Surbhi Jain.

She shared that slowly she started joining her colleagues for various activities, which “broke the ice in a way office small talk never could.”

“We were no longer managers or subordinates, introverts or extroverts. We were just people moving, sweating, and showing up.”

The founder continued that connecting this way with people felt much better than meeting for drinks or coffee.

She advised, “This felt different. It became something I looked forward to every single day. Movement felt like the only thing that was fun, healthy, and sustainable all at once. You could do it regularly, without guilt, and still return feeling lighter, both in body and mind”, adding, “And when you keep showing up like that, you start seeing the same faces again and again. That’s when it happens. Familiarity slowly turns into friendship, and the big city begins to feel like home.”

What did social media say?

An individual wrote, “Do you like it here???” Jain replied with a simple “yes”.

Another added, “This is so true. Cities feel lonely until shared routines turn strangers into familiar faces—movement builds community faster than small talk ever can.” A third commented, “And life becomes ‘home’ again.”