When Jasmine Bunnett moved to Newcastle from Queensland in 2019, the excitement of living in a new city awaited her. Login or signup to continue reading But little did she know it would be a struggle to form new friendships. Five years later the 28 year-old says she doesn't have a single close friend to count on.
"I have work acquaintances and a roommate but no one I could call in an emergency or someone that feels like home," she said. "It's a very lonely life." "Going to a show or dinner and a movie on your own just becomes embarrassing," she said.
Ms Bunnett is not alone with a number of 'new Novocastrians' in their 20s, struggling through the pressures of finding and nourishing new relationships. Senior lecturer in Sociology at University of Newcastle Dr Julia Cook found through a longitudinal study of life satisfaction, that young women from their late 20s to early 30s were unsatisfied with their lives, particularly the social aspect. "We found contemporary young women, when compared with people that were the same age as they are 15 years ago at present, are less satisfied with their lives," she said.
"They're in the so-called 'rush hour' of life where they're working, they might've started a family and have some caring responsibilities so the kind of opportunities for socialising are really challenging," she said. She said friendships are one of the categories of relationships in people's lives that is the most undervalued. "Friendships add a lot to our lives, they give.