How to make friends in the Queensland

I think the golden rule to making friends is never say no to any invitation. I've been living here in Queensland since November 2007 and I already have a group of five blokes to go to the pub with. My wife already has several friends to go out with and my daughter, now aged five, probably has more friends than the pair of us.

By never saying no to an invite, you are putting yourself out there. A couple of examples: I was paying for some stuff in a shop when a woman recognized my accent and asked if I came from England. I was with my daughter at the time and she told me she had a son the same age and invited my wife to call her so they can go out. She gave me her phone number and my wife called. Now they are friends. It wasn't easy for my wife to just call a stranger like that, but she did it.

Another invite came from a carpenter who was doing some work round our house. He knew we were new in town and said if you give me your phone number, I'll get my wife to ring your wife and they can go out. So I did and she did and they are now friends.

All of our friendships have started with similar kinds of invites, and even if you're not keen on the person who invites you, still go along. They will introduce you to other people.

It worked for us. Just promise yourself that for the first 12 months you will never say no to an invite.

Cheers

Bob