- Women only
- Friendship, not dating
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- Local guide
- October 21, 2026
Make Friends After 40 in Oxford While Changing Direction
A new job, a retraining course or a move away from academia can bring you to Oxford in your forties, and the city has classes built for exactly that moment.
19,100+
people living in Oxford are in their forties, by the latest ONS count (mid-2025)
12%
is the 40 to 49 share of Oxford’s population, below the South East’s 13%, as students skew the city younger (ONS mid-2025)
21%
of Oxford homes are social housing let by the city council or housing associations, a clear seven points above the regional rate (2021 census, ONS)
Oxford is good at second careers
Changing career in your 40s in Oxford can bring new friends as well as new skills. Oxford Lifelong Learning, part of the university, runs weekly classes for adults at Rewley House, Oxford Community Choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings off the High Street, and Headington RoadRunners runs a couch-to-5K on Thursdays. Gofrendly connects Oxford women with others nearby who are also starting something new.
Oxford questions about a new chapter
Where can a 40-something woman take evening classes in Oxford?
Oxford Lifelong Learning, the University of Oxford’s adult education arm, runs in-person weekly classes lasting five to ten weeks, many at Rewley House on Wellington Square. On accredited courses you can choose to submit work for assessment and gain academic credit, useful if a new career in Oxford needs it.
Is there a choir in Oxford with no audition?
Oxford Community Choir rehearses on Tuesdays from half past seven until half past nine during term at St Columba’s United Reformed Church on Alfred Street, just off the High Street. There are no auditions and no need to read music, so you can join Oxford’s singers at the start of any term.
How can a woman in Oxford make friends away from the office?
Gofrendly is a women-only friendship app that introduces you to women around Oxford, so you can say hello before meeting and build friendships that have nothing to do with your job. Combine it with a weekly Rewley House class, and those first coffees have a regular follow-up.
Where can I start running in Oxford as a beginner?
Headington RoadRunners runs a beginners group on the couch-to-5K plan on Thursday evenings at the OXSRAD leisure centre in Marston, with a warm-up at 6.45pm. On Saturdays, Oxford parkrun takes place at Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park in north Oxford, and walkers and slower joggers are welcome there too.
Oxford friendships beyond the job title
Oxford is a younger city than most: people in their 40s make up roughly 12% of the city, under the regional figure, because students and early-career researchers fill so much of it. If you are changing direction, perhaps leaving a contract post or retraining, your colleagues may be younger or only here for a year or two. Friendships that last are more likely to come from what you do outside work, so make friends after 40 through a class or a club rather than the office.
Between jobs or in a new one, weekends can feel lonely in a city that runs on term dates. Choose something with its own calendar. Weekly continuing-education classes, an unauditioned choir and a beginners running group draw a steady crowd every week. The Pitt Rivers Museum also holds after-hours late nights with music, a good second plan for someone you have just met. Places to try:
1
Rewley House on Wellington Square, home to weekly classes for adults.
2
Oxford Community Choir at St Columba’s Church on Alfred Street.
3
Headington RoadRunners, with a couch-to-5K group at OXSRAD in Marston.
4
Headington Library, which holds knit and crochet drop-ins on Friday afternoons.
5
The Pitt Rivers Museum, with late-night openings and live music.
LOCAL TIP
Start the class before you start the new job.
How to
Making friends in Oxford during a career change
1
Book a weekly class at Rewley House in a subject that has nothing to do with work.
2
Join Oxford Community Choir on a Tuesday in term time, with no audition.
3
Message Oxford women at a similar crossroads on Gofrendly and suggest a Pitt Rivers late night.
4
Try Oxford parkrun at Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park on a Saturday morning.
Finding friends by app, or finding old ones again
The people who wrote about Oxford career changes
Our editors and Gofrendly founders Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja wrote this page for Oxford women switching careers or retraining, with the classes, choirs and clubs that keep their own calendar.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
Friendship looks different at every stage
More guides for women in this area – each with its own local advice.
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