Making Friends

[VeganMoo]

Hello my name is Rachael and I am a 38 year old mother of two from Surrey.

My children are 8 and 13 and both vegan. I have been vegan for about 14 years now and was vegetarian for about 5 solid years before that but was semi veggie from the age of 13. My Husband is not a vegan and is not even interested in trying to become one, unfortunately I was a vegetarian when I met him and did not have such strong views on everything and so he sees it as I am the one who has changed not him and so it does cause conflict between us.
I suffer from a multitude of health problems which prevent me from working and I do not have many friends, my best friend lives over an hour away and I only see her maybe 1-2 times a month due to us both not being well.
I would really love to meet some more vegan friends to meet up with or even just have over for a cuppa and my children would love some vegan friends too.

So if there is anyone from Surrey area with kids similar age to mine I would love to chat.

 

[Tom L.]

Welcome, Rachael.

I live in the Northeastern United States, but visited the UK (including London) and Ireland back in 2000. I loved it! I didn't make it to Surrey, though. I just looked at a map, wondering if you could make it to London easily; it doesn't seem to be too far from your area. It might not be an easy trip if you have health/mobility issues, even if public transportation is better than it is here. I was thinking about London because maybe a city that size would have social groups of interest to you- including vegan ones.

ETA: ACK!!! I forgot to mention there's a "Vegan By Location" subforum right here on this website. Good luck!

 

[shyvas]

Hello my name is Rachael and I am a 38 year old mother of two from Surrey.

My children are 8 and 13 and both vegan. I have been vegan for about 14 years now and was vegetarian for about 5 solid years before that but was semi veggie from the age of 13. My Husband is not a vegan and is not even interested in trying to become one, unfortunately I was a vegetarian when I met him and did not have such strong views on everything and so he sees it as I am the one who has changed not him and so it does cause conflict between us.
I suffer from a multitude of health problems which prevent me from working and I do not have many friends, my best friend lives over an hour away and I only see her maybe 1-2 times a month due to us both not being well.
I would really love to meet some more vegan friends to meet up with or even just have over for a cuppa and my children would love some vegan friends too.

So if there is anyone from Surrey area with kids similar age to mine I would love to chat.

to the forum. As far as I know we don't have any members from Surrey or the surrounding area that post regularly. However, if you use social media, I would advise you to join 'Meet Up' and there are also a few Surrey (North, South etc) vegan groups on FB. That is where it's far easier to attend meetups and or engage with people in your area that have similar tastes.

Indeed, it can at times be very lonely when one is a vegan. I find that social media is a great way to meet other vegans.

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[Raven]

I'm not in Surrey. I now live in Essex, but I used to live in London for most of my life. If you can travel to London there are quite a few vegan meetups there. I agree with Shyvas about looking on Meetup and Facebook as there might be more vegans living near you than you think. This is quite a small forum and hardly any people on here are from the UK.

I am trying to meet more people this year too as I don't know many people in Essex yet.

 

[shyvas]

I'm not in Surrey. I now live in Essex, but I used to live in London for most of my life. If you can travel to London there are quite a few vegan meetups there. I agree with Shyvas about looking on Meetup and Facebook as there might be more vegans living near you than you think. This is quite a small forum and hardly any people on here are from the UK.

I am trying to meet more people this year too as I don't know many people in Essex yet.

I actually met my very good vegan friend at the Pavillion gardens in Brighton whilst I was feeding the pidges.

She saw me and stood right behind me in case anyone was going to give me a tough time. She then asked me whether I was a vegan. Whilst the large majority of people don't say anything and some even smile and say 'thank you', there is always the odd geezer who will make a remark.

From there on I joined Brighton vegan Meet up and met many other vegans. Over the years we have enjoyed the most wonderful meetups, festivals, outings, hikes, conferences, beach hut picnics, vegan cinema, Sunday roasts and the list goes on.

I also joined a few groups that do activism for animals. Once again, I met more people and when I did NARM in August, in London. I was happy to see that I knew so many people at the event. It was just a lovely feeling meeting them there.

I'm also a member of a local wildlife rescue and have learned how to capture and destring pigeons.

There is nothing like the UK for vegans.

Over here where I'm currently residing (hopefully will be relocating to the UK) I have no vegan friends. Sadly, many people over here think that we are extremists.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum

I hope that your husband becomes more supportive.

A quick google search does show there some gettogethers and vegan events, in your area, and I hope you are able to make some connections soon.

I do not have physical vegan friends (other than my spouse) and so find this forum a godsend in that regards. I also watch a lot of vegans on youtube and count them as my friends.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com