Lonely in Annapolis

I'm normally a very upbeat person but the reality of living in a "foreign" country without friends or family is starting to wear on me.

My husband and I moved to Annapolis, Maryland on August 1st. George is military and his posting here is for 3 to 4 years. My kids, though they are older, are in Canada, as are my close friends. Coming here means that I won't get to see them more than a couple of times a year. Coming here has also meant leaving a job I loved, doing work I believe in, work that ultimately helps my fellow human being.

I can't work here for the next few months and my social circle is extremely limited. It's comprised of a handful of military wives who either work full time or have young children at home and they are all pretty tired or tied up in their limited free time so socializing is infrequent.

Being lonely sucks! I'm just not used to it. Hmm, either I need a plan of action or an attitude adjustment. You know, as in, I've got all this time to myself so why not go within and deal with the **** from my past.

Okay, I'll stop now. Man, how many Weight Watchers points is that DQ Blizzard, and those fries, oh and that piece of chocolate cake and....

- Sue

Hi Sue,
I'm a Canadian (Ottawa) and hang out here in BWS as my "home away from home". My hubby's retired military (retired major, last posting was Fire Marshall in Halifax). I used to work with DND for many years, and saw first-hand the loneliness of the wives/husbands of military personnel who constantly had to uproot themselves to follow their spouses around the country and world. I met my husband just as he was retiring, so didn't experience that (though moved around a lot for other reasons for much of my life). It's always hard to start over, but moreso at our age when everyone seems to already be firmly entrenched in their social circles. We moved to Ottawa from Halifax in 1997 and I still don't have any real friends here...I had a wonderful network of friends in Halifax, but have not been able to break into any circles here. I've pretty much given up on that and focus on our grandchildren and my BWS & Facebook friends who fill that void for me now.

You've come to the right spot, here at BWS. So many women here have had to start over for various reasons. I hope you find this to be a warm, welcome, safe place to come and hang out in the midst of the loneliness of being in a whole new environment.

Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. Unless you're working outside of the home or volunteering, it is very difficult to make friends in Ottawa. It's a pretty "cold" city.

Hi Anne. I really like your suggestions. I hadn't even thought about driving to a nearby small town but that sounds like a really good idea! Haven't found any hobby groups yet but I'm not giving up. Thanks again. :-)