Making Friends After 40 in the East Midlands

Life in the East Midlands often runs between several towns at once. Build friendships in your 40s that do not depend on the commute.

Friendship after 40 in the East Midlands: laughter over a shared meal at a café terrace, four women gathered round a candle and a vase of flowers

317K+

Women aged 40 to 49 in the East Midlands, mid-2025 (ONS)

12.3%

Residents aged 40–49 across the region (ONS)

21K+

More women aged 50–59 than 40–49 (ONS)

Friendships in Your 40s Across the East Midlands

About one resident in eight in the East Midlands is in their 40s, including over 317,000 women, according to the ONS mid-2025 figures. If you live in one town and work in another, the week can be spread between Derby, Lincoln, Northampton or Chesterfield without much time left in any of them. When friendships are spread that thin, they rarely deepen. To make friends after 40 in the East Midlands, it is worth choosing one place, usually the one where you sleep, and putting your social energy there: a parkrun, a pottery class or a pub quiz team gives you a reason to show up every week. The local pages below cover Boston, Chesterfield and Coalville.

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The Team Who Wrote This

This East Midlands page comes from Gofrendly editors Claudia Gard and Ulrika Lilja. Their question: what happens to friendship when your week is split between several towns?