Fewer friends now older

Yes it’s happening to me too I have three best friends and they still are …but one older than me, is now almost housebound We still have a good friendship I visit and we talk on the phone but no trips out The second whose younger than me is awaiting brain surgery, the third is still there and I m seeing her tomorrow for lunch
Then I have a monthly meet-up with some old school friends we still do but it is shrinking… in the last year 2 have difficulty coming along as they have dementia and two have died recently November and January. Two no longer go out too much.
My friendship world has shrunk a lot

Thank goodness for GN

I don't have many friends I see face-to-face. One is very much tied up with grandchildren, one has a mum in her 90s and she visits her every day, another has health problems and hardly goes out, 2 others died in their 60s. In the early 80s I moved away from my home patch where I had dozens of friends made at the school gate, and only a few kept in touch.

It’s a sad fact of life as we get older. Of the large group of friends we had when both of us were working, and who we saw regularly when we retired, only three remain and two of those live too far away to visit regularly although we do talk on the phone. I get together with a couple of groups during the week for some social interaction but it’s not the same as having people you’ve known for a long time who “get you”. Like Charleygirl I have met some lovely people on GN and, though distance precludes us from being anything but email contacts, their online friendship means a great deal to me.

My closest friends have all died in the last three years, except for one who lives hundreds of miles away. We talk regularly but I agree it’s not the same as meeting up.

I have a couple of relatives from my childhood that I meet up with every couple of months.

Apart from that it’s acquaintances that I see at various activities.

I’m thankful for my family but I really miss my friends. I guess it’s an inevitable consequence of being the one that’s lived longest.

I know what you mean.
This year I plan to downsize and am afraid I'll have to move to a new area which won't be as accessible for visitors to me as well as for me getting out and about.

I have found U3A very good to combat loneliness and a weekly yarn group, other local activities too are sociable.
I volunteer at a community shop once a week too which keeps me up to date. Then ofcourse there's gransnet. 😊 and the radio....

But at my age, mid 70's, there are more funerals than weddings.

Definitely not just you Allsorts, my friendship group has diminished as illness has taken its toll. My increasing deafness and reducing mobility makes it hard to make new friends but I’m very thankful for those that remain and the memories I have.

I know how you feel. And I am more housebound these days so it's harder to make new friends. In fact I don't have any that live in the area. I have longstanding friends but all some distance away and we're all getting older!

Not so much me, but DH has lost a few friends who have recently passed away. It’s very sad as we age that our circle of good long tern friends dwindles.

No it’s not just you, I feel the same. Three of my closest friends have moved a long way away, one abroad. They are the ones who I used to go out in the evening with for dinner, cinema or a show so I really miss them. We all have health problems so we’re not even able to travel to see each other. We do talk on the phone but it’s not the same. I have another couple of, less close, friends, who I meet for a coffee occasionally but they both have family commitments so prefer not to go out in the evening. . My DH is lovely and we do a lot together such as meals out or theatre trips but I really miss having close friends to meet up with for an evening out or even just a good old natter. Sadly it’s very hard to make new friends when you are older as people usually have close relationships and don’t really want to start new ones.

Yes, it happens. One of my long time (50+ years) best friends has moved to live near one of her sons, not too far away, but because I’m not too good a driver, I don’t see her as often as I used to. I have a couple of good neighbours (of 18 years) who i see, fairly often. Recently I held a little ladies-only get-together for 8 of them.
Allsorts - what about your neighbours? Why don’t you have an old-fashioned coffee morning and invite a few of the ladies? Just a suggestion.

No, mine have moved a fair distance away, but I have met a few good friends on GN, and we meet regularly for coffee or, in a couple of instances, email each other.

If it were not for GN, I would spend a lot of time on my own.