Moving somewhere new is one of those experiences that can go beautifully or fall flat, depending almost entirely on where you land. The physical move is the easy part. What comes after, the awkward first months, the search for a real social circle, the question of whether the people around you are actually glad you showed up, that’s where the real test begins.
Some places have a genuine culture of openness toward newcomers, backed by low barriers to entry, active community life, and a social rhythm that doesn’t take years to crack. Others, despite their outward charms, can leave transplants feeling like permanent outsiders. Here’s a look at the towns that get it right, and a few that honestly struggle.
1. Nashville, Tennessee: The City That Keeps Growing for a Reason
1. Nashville, Tennessee: The City That Keeps Growing for a Reason (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Nashville has become one of the most talked-about cities in the country over the past decade, and its reputation for friendliness is a big part of why. Multiple 2025 surveys placed Nashville in the top 10 friendliest cities in the US, and it ranked as the city most likely to see residents performing everyday friendly gestures. The city doesn't just talk about community. It actually practices it.
Nashville is more than just country music. It's a growing economic hub with an expanding healthcare and tech sector, a strong job market, a thriving entertainment scene, and no state income tax, making it a top choice for newcomers. In 2023 alone, Middle Tennessee saw considerable job growth, particularly in technology and healthcare, resulting in roughly 24,000 new jobs. For a newcomer, that combination of economic opportunity and social warmth is hard to beat.
2. Austin, Texas: Friendly by Survey and by Feel
2. Austin, Texas: Friendly by Survey and by Feel (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Austin was ranked the number one friendliest city in the United States by the Preply survey in March 2025, with a 7.45 rating for friendliness. That's not just a data point. Anyone who has spent time there understands the outdoor patio culture, the food truck community, and the general willingness of strangers to strike up a real conversation.
Austin is fast-paced and modern while maintaining a classic welcoming attitude toward newcomers and strangers, with lots of patio food and drink spaces, food truck parks, and dog-friendly venues that foster an outdoor lifestyle. Austin continues to be a top destination thanks to its booming tech industry, affordable housing compared to Silicon Valley, and vibrant live music scene, drawing young professionals, entrepreneurs, and creatives alike. It helps that the whole city feels designed for accidental social encounters.
3. Charleston, South Carolina: Southern Hospitality That's Actually Real
3. Charleston, South Carolina: Southern Hospitality That's Actually Real (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Charleston, South Carolina, earned the title of the best city in the South in 2025, ahead of Savannah, Georgia, and Asheville, North Carolina. The kind of friendliness you find here is less performative than the stereotype might suggest. People genuinely stop to chat. Neighbors actually introduce themselves. It's a town that still has a neighborhood identity.
The broader Charleston area offers proximity to a large metro environment without actually living in a large city, a quality that many newcomers find gives them the best of both worlds. With a favorable tax structure and a warm Southern welcome, South Carolina remains a top choice for those seeking an exceptional lifestyle. The coastal setting doesn't hurt, either.
4. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Community Spirit in the Rockies
4. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Community Spirit in the Rockies (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Colorado Springs claimed the top spot as America's Most Neighborly City in 2024, standing out for its exceptional volunteerism and high voter turnout, and embodying community spirit through strong participation in local charities, recreational activities, and neighborhood events. That's a rare triple combination for any city, let alone one with a relatively modest profile.
The city's outdoor culture is part of what makes integration easier for newcomers. Shared hiking trails, sports clubs, and recreational events create natural spaces for connection that don't require a prior social network. Boise, Idaho, ranked just behind it in 12th place on the same 2024 list, combining a small-town feel with big-city amenities and robust community engagement. Both cities show that the Mountain West can be surprisingly open terrain for those arriving fresh.
5. Savannah, Georgia: Slow-Paced, Story-Rich, and Welcoming
5. Savannah, Georgia: Slow-Paced, Story-Rich, and Welcoming (Image Credits: Pexels)
Savannah, Georgia, was ranked among the top friendliest cities by readers of Condé Nast Traveler. There is something about the city's pace and physical layout, the famous squares, the walkable neighborhoods, the front-porch culture, that makes conversation feel natural rather than forced. Newcomers tend to be absorbed into local rhythms quickly.
Towns like Savannah have showcased their commitment to hospitality, with local businesses and residents actively encouraging visitors and newcomers to explore and feel at home. The city has a long tradition of civic organizations, historic preservation groups, and community markets that give newcomers a ready-made point of entry into social life without needing prior connections.
6. Raleigh, North Carolina: Open Arms and Open Greenways
6. Raleigh, North Carolina: Open Arms and Open Greenways (bobistraveling, Flickr, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC BY 2.0</a>)
Raleigh ranked 14th on the 2024 Most Neighborly Cities list, known for its strong economy and southern hospitality, fostering close-knit communities that value neighborliness, with 180 miles of greenway trails offering ample opportunities for outdoor connections, and a city that remains committed to welcoming newcomers as its population grows.
Raleigh is part of the Research Triangle, a major hub for technology and research-driven industries, offering a lower cost of living than many other tech-centric cities, excellent educational institutions, and a family-friendly environment. The steady stream of arrivals from across the country has created a culture where being new to town is entirely normal, which removes a lot of the social friction that newcomers face elsewhere.
Now the Other Side: 4 Towns That Can Be Tough for Newcomers
Now the Other Side: 4 Towns That Can Be Tough for Newcomers (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Not every place with a great reputation makes it easy to actually plug in. Some of the most beautiful, culturally rich, and economically vibrant cities in the country have real social barriers that catch newcomers off guard. The four places below aren't necessarily bad places to live, but they require more patience, and more realistic expectations.
The pattern across these cities tends to be consistent. When a place is harder to make friends in, it usually has one or both of two barriers: a culture where strangers are not as social with each other in public, and social settings like parties where people aren't as keen on making small talk with someone they don't know. That distinction matters more than most people realize before they move.
Seattle, Washington: The Freeze Is Real
Seattle, Washington: The Freeze Is Real (Image Credits: Unsplash)
The Seattle Freeze is, according to widely held belief, a difficulty with making new friends in Seattle, particularly for transplants from other areas, a phenomenon documented as far back as the early 1920s during rapid population increases. A 2019 poll found that roughly two out of five respondents in Washington and Oregon said making new friends was not important, and in a similar 2022 poll, about two-thirds of residents agreed that giving newcomers the cold shoulder was a typical Pacific Northwest trait.
According to 2024 US Census data, nearly half of Washingtonians reported feeling lonely at least occasionally, one of the highest rates in the nation, and in early 2024, half of young adults in Seattle reported feelings of loneliness. Speculation about the origin points to the reserved personalities of the city's early Nordic and Asian immigrants, the emotional effects of the climate including Seasonal Affective Disorder, and the region's history of independent-minded pioneers. The city is worth living in for many reasons. Easy social integration, though, is not one of them.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Minnesota Nice Has Limits
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Minnesota Nice Has Limits (Image Credits: Pexels)
Minneapolis is among the cities with a consistent reputation for being harder to make friends in, alongside Seattle, New York City, and Los Angeles. The term "Minnesota Nice" describes a surface warmth that is very real but rarely deepens into genuine friendship without significant time and repeated exposure. Locals are pleasant. They are simply not in a hurry to let new people in.
Minneapolis, a heavily Scandinavian city, has its own version of the social distance phenomenon closely related to the Seattle Freeze. The area has a culture where friendships develop slowly but, once formed, run deep. Locals consider the word "friend" used loosely by newcomers as a sign of cultural difference. What an outsider might call a friend, they would call a friendly acquaintance, leaving newcomers who expect quick social wins feeling like no one likes them.
Toronto, Canada: Polished, But Hard to Crack
Toronto, Canada: Polished, But Hard to Crack (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Toronto has dropped significantly in expat rankings in recent years, with expats most concerned about rising unemployment, high living costs, a decline in the urban environment, fewer recreational opportunities, expensive housing, and many struggling to build a social life. It is a world-class city in almost every measurable category, yet the social culture tends to be compartmentalized in a way that leaves newcomers on the outside looking in for longer than expected.
The city's sheer size works against casual community building. Neighborhoods often function as separate villages with limited crossover, and the high cost of living means many residents are stretched thin socially as well as financially. Newcomers frequently report that polite coexistence is abundant, but genuine warmth takes considerably longer to find.
Los Angeles, California: A Beautiful Maze
Los Angeles, California: A Beautiful Maze (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Los Angeles is often described as a city where out-of-towners can be too mercenary and career-focused, while locals are said to be more down to earth and open to hanging out without an agenda. The irony is that LA's reputation for being cold is partly a misread of a very fractured social geography. The city isn't unfriendly so much as it is deeply spread out, car-dependent, and organized around professional identity rather than neighborhood life.
A lot of people move to the area and the locals aren't always enthusiastic about befriending them. In touristy cities, locals may be reluctant to befriend newcomers who they know will leave after a few months, while in others, long-time residents may feel they don't have much in common with the new arrivals. For newcomers without a pre-existing professional network, breaking through can feel like trying to find parking on a Friday night. Possible, eventually, but rarely easy.