You have your Facebook friends, your Instagram followers, and your LinkedIn connections all nicely grouped and labeled. Though getting likes, comments, and emojis on your feeds has been proven to boost dopamine levels (and therefore make you happier), all that online chatter can also amount to loneliness in real life. So how can you mirror your online socializing with connections in the flesh? Here are seven ways to create your inner circle from the luxury of Bell Buckhead West apartments.
1. Throw a theme party
Put your apartment’s rooftop lounge or pool deck to good use. No one can resist a luau—and if they can, why would you want to be friends with them anyway? You could also make it a stargazing gathering or a retro cocktail party. Having themes gives guests who may not know each other well a built-in icebreaker. It’s way easier to strike up a conversation with someone sporting M.C. Hammer parachute pants. Who doesn’t like to throw back to the ’80s?
2. Host game night
One-up the standard board game night with activities that get people off their feet. Think Jenga, Pictionary, or even Twister. Better yet, show off your culture-vulture side with a game of Bocce, an Italian ball game played on a lawn or sand court with roots dating back to the ancient Romans. Bell Buckhead West has one in their community courtyard. Serve a traditional Aperol Spritz, and play like you’re in Venezia.
3. Get some workout wingmen/women
Having regular workout buddies is easier when you’re in the same building. Start a bootcamp routine or a spin “class” by gathering people at the same time every week. New to the building? Hang a sign-up sheet by the gym door, and match up with neighbors who enjoy the same workouts and have similar schedules. You may even introduce new kinds of workouts to get more interest. Acroyoga, anyone?
4. Plan a potluck
Sometimes the best dinner gatherings are when you get to sample a bunch of different foods in one meal. Correction: the best ones are when you’re not the only cook—and therefore, cleaner-upper—in the kitchen. Step it up a notch with a cookout in a courtyard BBQ with gas grills and ample seating. You can also host a cook-off. A little healthy competition only makes the meal more satisfying knowing each one is a blue-ribbon contender. Winner hosts the next one!
5. Be neighborly
A great way to make new friends in your neighborhood is to simply reach out and be neighborly—in other words, offer a helping hand. Besides, you’ll appreciate the return favor the next time you need your plants watered on vacation or your dog walked when you’re stuck at work. Cultivate relationships as soon as someone new moves in. Drop by with a stack of local take-out menus, or offer to help recycle their boxes. Sometimes just a “welcome to the neighborhood” note is all you need to start off on the right foot.
6. View in numbers
Whether it’s a local game, TV series, or Netflix binge, sitting in front of the big screen can be more entertaining with a group of fans—you need someone to high-five when the goal goes through—not to mention the snack selection is better when more people share in the fun. Schedule your big game nights or viewing parties enough in advance to reserve the clubroom TV, and make sure your outfit matches your enthusiasm.
7. Work in public lounge space
All work in a closed space makes Jack a dull boy. Bring him out in the open, and doesn’t the day look brighter? If you have the flexibility to work from home, take advantage of open Wi-Fi and a community coffee bar. Plus, sitting in open spaces makes you approachable for idle banter. Who doesn’t welcome a chat about the weather in between email triage?
Want to bring your social network to life? Tour Bell Buckhead West, and put it in motion. The premier apartment community nestled just minutes away from the center of Buckhead Village plays host to many a gathering. Live there, and come home to things like happy hour around the outdoor fire pit or Sunday game night in the clubroom lounge. Located conveniently to shops, restaurants, and cafés, the property itself is the best destination in the neighborhood. Just ask a current resident, and you’ll see why Bell Buckhead West greets new renters with, “Welcome to the Inner Circle.”
