How to meet people?

[lisapainter]

Hi! I'm wondering if I can get some advice here (I'll be as specific as possible).

I'm 22 years old, not particularly attractive but I wouldn't say unattractive either. I've just moved to a new country (Australia, 3 months ago) where I know no one but my own family members. Before I moved to Australia I had never had a boyfriend, had never had sex and had barely even kissed a guy. Sure, I worked and studied but there was never any men at either of those places. I tried online dating and had two pretty terrible dates.

So I moved to Australia with my family. I joined another online dating site and started chatting to a great guy. We met and really clicked and became a couple after only a short week and a half. We even slept together (several times). However, after a month he tells me that he isn't ready for a serious relationship after coming out of a long, very serious one not long ago. I fought for him for a while, but when it was clear he was set in his ways, I dropped it and let him go.

Now, I don't know what to do. I've read that the two best places to meet men are at University or work. Previous study I never met any men, and I have been looking for work for 3 months now and nothing. This, of course, means I can't afford to do a short course. I have tried volunteering and community places and attended a cheap evening class to meet people, but it was all women there or men who didn't seem to show any interest in me.

A contributing factor is that I have a stutter, which makes me incredible shy about meeting new people. I get so anxious before blind dates (online dates), I have been known to make myself ill.

So, advice. What do I do? Do I just keep trying volunteering, keep applying for jobs, keep trying online dating? Or, perhaps, do I try again with my ex - the only man that he ever shown an interest in me?

[Saya]

You should try to make friends with both female and male. Once you begin to have close friendship, you can go to the party or even make more new friends through friends. They can introduce you to their friends etc.