How to Make Friends in NYC Who Share Your Interests
Everyone in New York says “we should hang out” and vanishes onto the train. This is where to find the one who means it and likes what you like.
Team Alyke
You've been here long enough to have a bodega order and a least favorite train, and your weekends still run on a group chat in other time zones. People you meet say “let's get drinks sometime,” mean it for a minute, and then the doors close.
The ask is small: one or two people whose idea of a good Saturday looks like yours, who get your jokes, and who text back. They're a few stops away. Here's where to find them.
What every lasting friendship has
Think of the friend you'd call at midnight. Odds are you wanted the same Saturdays and never had to explain yourselves. That's the whole formula: a personality that clicks with yours, and things you both love doing.
Here that might be the neighbor who ranks pizza places as seriously as you do, or the coworker who'd rather see a free show in a park than wait for brunch. A study that tracked a group of students found the same: the friendships that lasted ran on shared interests and similar traits.
Half the city feels the same way
Finding them is hard here, and it isn't personal. About 800,000 New Yorkers moved in the past year, and in Midtown and Flatiron one in four, so whole blocks are still learning where the good coffee is. The city's Health Department says more than half of New Yorkers feel lonely at least sometimes.
The hopeful part: nationally, nearly half of adults made a new friend in the past year, so the person on the next barstool is probably looking too.
Where to look, and what each place asks
Each needs the same two things from you: repeat visits, and one conversation.
Run the Saturday Open Run
NYRR Open Run is a free weekly 5K in parks around the city, walkers welcome; in Astoria Park, Queens, it meets Saturdays at 9 by the track. It asks for two months of early alarms and a hello to whoever finishes when you do. Everyone at that start line picked a park over sleep.
Work the same project every week
New York Cares asks for one short online orientation, then more than a thousand projects across the five boroughs. Some volunteers work the same one every week, which is the version that makes friends: pick one that repeats, show up each time, and talk while you sort or serve beside people who chose the same cause.
Adopt one free park series
Smorgasburg runs every weekend from April to October in Williamsburg, Prospect Park and at the Oculus, free to walk in. On summer Mondays the Bryant Park lawn opens at 5 for a free movie at 8. Treat one like an appointment: same spot, same vendor line, a word to whoever's next to you, who also chose the park over the couch.
All three work, but each takes weeks of showing up and a cold opener on a stranger who may like none of what you like. If you'd rather start with someone who already does, there's a shortcut.
The easiest way to meet someone who gets you
Alyke is built to help you find intentional friends, one person at a time. Most friend apps hand you generic recommendations. Alyke starts your feed with the people who share your vibe the most, based on your interests and personality instead of your looks. So the first profile you see is someone worth the train ride, and the months of Saturdays and the cold opener are the parts you skip.
You pick what you're into and say a sentence about each in your own words. Adding someone starts with something they wrote: you answer it, and if your vibe lands with them, you're friends and the chat picks up from there.
Alyke Pro can also narrow the feed by language, state, personality or interest.
Questions people ask
With so many friend apps, which one is worth trying?
Pick the one built for the kind of friendship you want. New York has endless group events, so what's usually missing is one close friend you see every week. Alyke is a friendship app built for finding one close friend, and it shows you the people whose interests and personality are closest to yours first, so you spend your time on people you'd actually get along with.
How do you keep plans with busy New Yorkers?
Make the plan small, close and on a fixed day, like a 7 a.m. walk over the Brooklyn Bridge or dumplings every other Thursday. A standing plan survives busy weeks much better than "let's hang soon." Alyke profiles list each person's interests, such as Pizza or Coffee, so you can build a standing plan around one you both share.
Is it safe to meet someone from a friend app in New York?
Yes, if you meet in a busy public place in daylight, like the Union Square Greenmarket, and get there and home on your own. Tell a friend where you'll be. Every Alyke member verifies their phone number and photos when they sign up, and verified profiles show a badge, so you know the person you're meeting is the one in the photos.
What's the best app to make friends in New York City?
Alyke is a friendship app for iPhone that helps you find a close friend in New York City, starting with people who share both your interests and your personality type. Profiles show up to eight interests with a short sentence each, three personality picks and prompt answers, so you know what you share before you say hello. Each member confirms a phone number and real photos. To get started, add interests you'd happily do every week, like Pizza or Concerts.
How do you make friends in NYC when everyone is so busy?
Alyke helps busy New Yorkers make friends by showing them people who already share their interests first, so less time goes to chats that lead nowhere. You send a friend request by commenting on one thing in someone's profile, and when they like your vibe, the chat opens with that comment. From there, a small standing plan works better than waiting for an open week. Suggest one specific plan, like Saturday coffee in your neighborhood, within your first few messages.
How does Alyke help you make friends in New York?
Alyke helps you make friends in New York by showing people with your interests and personality first and letting you reach out with a comment instead of a cold hello. You might comment on someone's answer to "We'll be friends if...", and once they like your vibe, the chat opens with it. Alyke Pro adds a state filter for people in New York. Answer two prompts so new people have an easy way in.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, via Census Reporter: New York city and Midtown, East Midtown and Flatiron.
- NYC Health. Loneliness.
- Survey Center on American Life. The State of American Friendship, June 2021.
- SCOOP. Shared interests and character traits play the biggest role in friendships over time, on Cowen, Stark, Frey and Flache, Social Networks (2025).
- NYC Parks. NYRR Open Run, Astoria Park.
- New York Cares. Volunteer.
- Smorgasburg. New York FAQ.
- Bryant Park. Movie Nights.
