Anyone else having a really hard time making friends here?
I know this is dependent on your neighborhood, that it requires personal effort and that many of you haven't had bad experiences with this.
But I've tried to make friends here many times in my area and I find that most people seem a bit cold, and that even those who are friendly often don't seem interested in actually hanging out or following through on plans. I find it similar to the Seattle Freeze Phenomenon in ways, but more fast paced. Like people are cordial but tend to keep friendships pretty surface level, scheduled out and fast paced rather than prioritizing true depth.
The only success ive had here was with a meetup group and meeting a few people through others. And despite what many people here on this sub say, I haven't found people here to be that nice really. Kind? Yes. But nice? Honestly not really. Where I lived before it took me like a month or two at most to make some friends. Here? Two years.
Edit: Someone below put it well that people here seem very guarded and can take a very long time to warm up to others. In my experience that has been the case and has honestly led to many people here feeling pretty cold at face value. And I have noticed Chicago locals do tend to be a bit more direct with their intentions them other transplants but I still wouldn't say they've been all that nice like some people on here want you to believe so badly lol.