Meeting Friends

[Silverbane Jackson]

Hey guys!

So, it’s been a long time since I’ve been back on this site (I think February is when I was on last XD) and I’ve noticed something that has kinda been bothering me lately… I have almost no friends that are furries too. It kinda makes me sad, mainly because I joined furries to make friends in the first place. (Well, that and the art too.) I don’t know if I’m just not looking hard enough, if I don’t have time to make friends in this community, but it really makes me sad that I have really no friends in the community.

As of now, I have kinda/sorta have a reason to not be on the site or hang out with friends (I have class 30 hours of the week and I work 40+ hours throughout the week) but I still would like to have other furry friends I can hangout and get to know better. I know someone else made a post similar to this, but I guess this is different because I’m not afraid of meeting other people? (I think that’s what the topic was about, overcoming the anxiety of meeting other people.)

I don’t know, maybe I just need to plan my schedule so I’m able to go to more furry events, maybe I should just start randomly talking to people online I’m just a little sad that I don’t have as many furry friends as I would like to have. So, that being said, does anyone have any good advice on meeting other furs? Is it better/easier meeting people at events or online?

(Moonwalks) HEE-HEE!

[Silas the Cat]

Yeah, same here. I can’t seem to keep the casual conversation friends that I find and out of the 4 years of being a fur, I have 2 friends to show for it. Not really an outgoing person either which does NOT help my case.

[Silverbane Jackson]

I know, right? It’s hard making friends XD

(Moonwalks) HEE-HEE!

[Alucard]

I’d post in your local group asking if anyone would like to meet for coffee and see if you have any luck there. It doesn’t eat up too much time on that 70+ hour week

[Silverbane Jackson]

I’ll give that a try, thanks for the advice ^_^

(Moonwalks) HEE-HEE!

[Aerak]

If you weren’t working so hard already, I’d suggest volunteering. That’s how I made many of my friends in the furry community. Locally we have events happening every month and they don’t run themselves. We have a board election coming up and an election committee that is being formed to help, and we have lots of help needed for our convention, Furry Migration. All of these things offer an excuse to get out and meet people – an ice breaker.

But that’s what I would recommend if you weren’t putting in 70 hour weeks between school and work. In that case, honestly, do what works for your schedule. This website is a great starting point but I’d recommend trying to attend some events – we have upcoming events at the bottom of the page. If your schedule makes that difficult, try hopping on Telegram or Discord and joining the unofficial MNFurs communities there. They aren’t staffed by MNFurs (the non-profit org) but are staffed by members of the Minnesota furry community. They are a good place to connect online.

Otherwise, if you see someone interesting in the forums, feel free to use the on-site chat to say hello. ^_^

[Silverbane Jackson]

Thanks for the advice! ^_^ I’ve thought about joining the chat before, but I always had this feeling it’d be weird if a random dog joined in the middle of the conversation. But I’ll be done with school in December, so that’ll defiantly open up my schedule, but I’ll be moving to Saint Cloud to live with my mate while he’s in school so… (shrugs)

(Moonwalks) HEE-HEE!

[Ammit Coyote]

Where are you currently from?

[Silverbane Jackson]

Currently Roseville, I’m close to Rosedale Mall and the State Fair grounds

(Moonwalks) HEE-HEE!

[Tundra Everquill]

Howdy Silver! It’s nice to have ya aboard this wonderful crazy train of a fandom. *extends a wing in invitation.* My name is Vib, as that is my internet alas but I also go by Spade which is my Fursona “He’s a crow :P” or ROSAI which is my primary Pursona ^.^

I wouldn’t consider myself much of an advice giver but I can definitly attempt to help ya. Firstly I think many of us have been in that same boat before where we have a active interest in something yet no one else around us feels what we feel thus making us missing a part of social communication that we cling to have. I for sure had been wanting to be furries in person since I was a teen. After engaging more into the social side of the fandom and meeting some really cool people.

One of the many things that furries all share is that we all have had problems dealing with isolation, fear of others, being enthralled in things that may seem odd to others and so on and so forth. Thus your more likely to find people that are willing to give you a chance and accept you. So you don’t have to worry to much about being approachable. Just be yourself and mingle. Try and throw yourself into conversation you’ll eventually find your group somewhere. If you ever meet any fursuiter they may not be very communicative or even responsive. That’s just the nature of being in costume. So if you meet a suiter and they don’t respond to ya or they may not be very social. Your not doing anything wrong that’s just how they are it’s not a mean’s of being rude or anything.

As for planning things what I’d recommend personally is to meet some people around MNFurs first, rather it’s directly from the Forum or one of the unofficial chat based services like Telegram or Discord before you go. Going to any of the events is fun just to witness all the fun activities they have to offer but you’ll have a better experience if you actually have someone to meet with or go with. Plus it’ll make the atmosphere just a little less awkward and planning won’t be as much of a worry. I went to Migration for my first time this year and it wasn’t as good as I hoped. The event itself wasn’t bad I just didn’t have as much fun cuz I had no one to hang with or engage in conversation towards anything that was happening. I still got to enjoy the events and panels n what not but it would have been more fun otherwise.

Anyway I hope some of these helped ya out a bit and I wish to see ya at some of the upcoming events. for now man you have yourself a wonderful time exploring these outscurt lands of furrism :3

[Renton Whitetail]

From my experience, I first encountered many local furs with the Internet. Matter of fact, I happened to discover more about the fandom online. It was during my college years while I was into the concept of transformation and was involved in a couple of roleplaying websites that were dedicated to it. From there, I got to make friends with the site members who were furs themselves and see how they interacted with each other through messenger conversations; they even showed me links to their own galleries on Fur Affinity, which was how I first discovered furry.

Before I ever knew the fandom existed, I was unable to make a lot of real-life friends while I was in high school and college, for I got rather busy with my academic studies, work and other extracurricular activities, so I didn’t have enough time to squeeze in a social life and go out to hang with any friends that I had. By finding out about the fandom, it seemed like the kind of thing where I could definitely share my interests and make friends in. When I first attended the West Metro meets and the picnics, I was a little hesitant at first in how to approach the furs that were there; gradually, I began to come out of my shell and get to know more of the furs while also learning about the type of events they participated in. From there, I started to develop quite a strong connection with them. It was rather fortunate for me to make friends here in the furry fandom and truly call them my friends, for I had not found another fandom in which I could fully immerse myself in and feel like I truly belonged. Many doors of opportunity opened for me in terms of actually going out and being involved in the furry community, like participating in fursuit romps and bowling, doing volunteer work and attending local conventions. Over time, I got around to getting a fursuit of my own and my connections with other furs in the fandom (real life and online) grew and grew ever since.

So I’d say it’s good to meet new furs both online and at events (so long as you can make yourself available to attend the events in person). It may take some time to develop a wide circle of friends within the fandom, but if you just be yourself and be able to get involved in a number of local events, then you’ll truly begin to shine within the community. 🙂

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