How To Make Friends After 40 in the East of England

Market towns, villages and growing cities give the East of England a slower rhythm. That can suit friendships in your 40s, once you know where to look.

After 40 in the East of England: a relaxed evening meal outdoors, four women chatting and laughing around a wooden table

439K+

Women in their 40s in the East of England (ONS)

13%

Of residents are aged 40–49, mid-2025 (ONS)

230K+

Women aged 40 to 44 (ONS, mid-2025)

Finding Your People in Your 40s, East of England Style

Roughly 13% of everyone in the East of England is in their 40s, and mid-2025 ONS estimates put the number of women in that age group at close to 440,000. They are spread across a region of market towns and villages, from the Norfolk and Suffolk countryside to busier places such as Cambridge, Norwich, Colchester and Ipswich. In a village, you may know every face at the school gate or the shop and still have nobody to ring on a Friday night. In a growing town, the opposite can happen. Either way, the surest way to make friends after 40 here is to choose them on purpose: join the running club, the book group or the community choir you have been meaning to try, and stay long enough for small talk to turn into plans.

Real Friendship Stories to Read

Josephine & Bella’s Real Friendship Story: A Genuine Friendship, Five Years On

Josephine and Bella matched on Gofrendly five years ago. Here's the real story of how one match became a lasting friendship.

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Matilda & Noelle’s Real Friendship Story: A Genuine Connection That Turned Into a Trip to Italy

A real Gofrendly friendship story: from a nervous first message to a trip to Italy together — proof that giving a new friendship a real chance is always worth it.

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Behind This East of England Page

For this East of England page, Gofrendly’s Claudia Gard and Ulrika Lilja compared friendship in your 40s in villages, market towns and cities, which each need a different approach.