Where can I get a pen pal?

At least with email, it can be written, and the reply read in the comfort of your own home, and as BlueBelle mentioned, there is no worry of expensive stamps or the hassle of posting it.

I can recommend Gransnet it s a great place to make a long term email friend /s however if you actually want a snail mail penfriend do not forget the price of stamps now especially overseas postage

I can recommend www.globalpenfriends.com
They are a secure site that have been going for years and have members world wide. You do not need to pay for membership. I have found some lovely pen pals through them.

I've had a lovely American pen pal for almost 20 years now.
We only recently switched to email from snail mail, for practical reasons.
I can't remember how we met though...

I had a pen pal in the US when I was in my early/mid teens. My letters contained such a load of fatuous drivel, mainly about clothes, make up and music, it embarrasses me even now if I cast my mind back. My content would be soooo much better now, if only I knew where she is, probably expired from boredom of reading my adolescent missives

Well done MD.

Thank you GNHQ.

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During Covid I signed up for a pen-pal site and for the first few letters I felt I was 14 again!

I corresponded with an American lady and at first we seemed to have a lot in common but then her letters just became about her problems at work and I just lost interest.

Also they treated pen-friends differently, sending small gifts and hand decorating the paper and embellishing the letters like teenagers really. I couldn't afford to send silly gifts across the Atlantic and so stopped sending letters.

I think the ability to write interesting letters seems to have disappeared. I have also corresponded on here with people but again, not for long.

Barleyfields I totally agree.

Lucycat report what you wrote, and it will be deleted.

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I email two GNs very frequently- one daily and the other around weekly. We have "known" each other for years. The other two live many miles away from me. They do not "know" each other but both households know all about me as I do them.

I meet three other GNs locally each month for coffee, and we have been doing that for around 6 years; we just clicked when we first met, and with our jobs and backgrounds, we would not have met in a million years.

It is well worth making the effort.

I had lots of snail-mail penpals until email came along, when some of us switched to emailing and others got lost in the ether. When Facebook became a craze, I lost almost everybody because I refused their exhortations to join (I really don't see the point of "sharing" selfies or pictures of my meals, and REALLY don't see the point of wasting precious time reading non-messages like "LOL" or "You go, gal!" - I mean, what IS that all about?
I imagine a lot of people (me included) would love to have some specific pen-pals we could get to know personally, rather than the faceless interaction of online discussion. But we're all aware now (or should be) of the dangers of letting strangers know exactly who and where we are, before we even know their names.
You never know who you're going to meet online (some people feel this is a great thing, others that it's one of the worst aspects of virtual friendship). To be honest, I've had a few email pals whom I'd really rather not have met! The most notable was an American man whose very first email to me contained a picture of his bent-over behind. Not sure whether he was giving his opinion of me specifically or British folk in general, or maybe the whole of humankind!

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Would any senior lady like a penpal? Just to chat via email about life in general, everyday stuff and maybe have a laugh. I love animals, books, music etc. I'm a quiet family person but I'm also as daft as a brush.

“Yours” is a great magazine for all sorts of topical articles and reminiscing. Great for penpals too.

Yours magazine has a column for pen pals

Thank you for all of your replies. i will have a look at the magazine Yours. I did have a look for a pen pal on the internet but they also include dating, which I do not want. Just a friendly penpal to write to.

I agree with Katie59.
It`s safe too.

I bought a copy of the Yours magazine looking for a penfriend and ended up with 12! and they are still all in touch.

There is a magazine my aunt used to subscribe to, 'Yours', with a section on pen pals. My aunt still corresponds with someone from the magazine article.

There is an app called "quarantine chat' which you can join and randomly connects you to people all over the world. You can choose which group you want to join and whether you want to chat etc. From this group I have made some email friends and we exchange new regularly. You do not need to give any information to those whom you are chatting.

Google pen friend groups for women, there are lots

WhatsApp is a good contact medium and you can do video too

Please be careful. I had someone approach me and I was guarded and wary from the start. Do not give out personal details. Never let them know where you live. Take care.