How to invite friends to live near you

A template for community building

View all templates here.

When my partner was almost finished with her medical residency in Pittsburgh, we for the first time had the power to decide for ourselves where to live. We knew that directionally, we wanted to live closer to family in New York, but otherwise we wanted to prioritize community. So we sent an email to a large group of friends that we thought might be open to doing the same.

What we learned is that most of our friends hadn’t yet thought about settling down somewhere for good. But many had Philly, a city that was a top contender for us, on their shortlist. So we took the gamble and moved here a year ago, and we never stop reminding our friends to follow suit.

Not sure where to start? This is how our email was worded:

hello!

if you're receiving this it's because you are a friend and we think it'd be rad to live in the same city as you.

[why you’re considering moving]. we'd like the next place we move to be for at least [length of time] and we want to strongly prioritize proximity to family/friends/community. some of our needs requirements are: [list your requirements, ex. within driving distance of your hometown, characteristics of the city, price constraints].

do you have a sense of where you'll be living in the next few years (extra points if you're planning on sticking around long term)? if so we'd really love to hear about what you're thinking about!

if you have absolutely no idea what's in the cards for you but you'd like us to update you on what we're thinking about...this is less helpful but ok and we will do that.

as thank you for reading, here is a video of our [kids/pets/us doing something].

<3,

[name]

Some additional tips:

• Cast a wide net! Send to as many potentially interested friends as you can, probably using bcc.

• Be as transparent about your needs and constraints as you can.

• Schedule calls with promising leads to get more information on their thinking.

• Remember to send a follow-up email once you decide where to move, sharing your reasoning and doubling down on your hope that people join you.

View the full post with more tips and templates for befriending neighbors and beneighboring friends: