How to Make Friends in the Bay Area

Bay Curious

KQED

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's hard these days to make a good old fashioned friend! Especially here in the Bay Area, where there are so many demands for our time and attention. On today's show, we hear some of your experiences with making friends in the Bay Area, and follow one listener as she tries to meet new friends in San Jose. This episode originally aired on The Bay podcast. Be sure to subscribe! Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Jessica Kariisa. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. The Bay is made by Alan Montecillo, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Jessica Kariisa. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQED Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. Mark Twain's coldest winter is right around the corner. Luckily, SFO has nonstop flights to over 140 destinations worldwide to help you get some summer sunshine. More info at flysfo.com slash nonstop.
0:19.5	Support for KQED podcast comes from Rinse.
0:23.3	Rinse knows that mastering the perfect house party table spread takes time, but so does
0:28.8	laundry.
0:29.9	So Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door expertly cleaned, and you can
0:35.9	take the time once spent sorting and waiting, folding, and
0:39.8	queuing to finally pursue your real passion. Rolling delicate roses of capacola, alongside meandering
0:47.2	ribbons of hamones serrano, transforming a humble plank of weathered barnwood into a show-stopping
0:52.9	charcuttery spread?
0:59.0	Sign up today at rinse.com. Rinse, it's time to be great.
1:01.7	From KQED.
1:05.2	How do you make friends?
1:12.2	It may seem like a simple question, but it's a difficult one to answer for so many people,
1:14.4	especially here in the Bay Area.
1:18.9	We're a community where a lot of people are coming and going all the time.
1:23.7	A lot of the places where we once gathered, so-called third spaces, have closed.
1:25.6	Going out is expensive.
1:30.4	We're all busy with many balancing the time demands of family,
1:37.2	keeping our health in check, careers, and unfortunately commuting to those careers. And the pandemic made some of us feel pretty rusty. It seems easier sometimes to stay home,
1:42.2	scroll the internet, watch Netflix, whatever.
1:45.5	Add that all together and it can feel impossible to make a good old-fashioned friendship anymore.
1:51.4	Over the years, Bay Curious has received a few questions from people looking for advice on how to build friendships here.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.