by Karen and Erica

Carole King was right. It is good to know you have a friend. But once you leave your job, and possibly your community, and your friends start doing other things too, it may be difficult to find new friends. And it may be especially difficult to have friends from a different generation, who can give you insight into how today’s up and coming leaders think, and who may themselves benefit from your experience.

We were happy to see a recent WSJ article outlining several ways in which one might find such relationships, like taking classes with younger people or renting a room in your home. Obviously, some of these ideas involve a greater commitment than others! You need to consider your options, and what you really want to do—we imagine doing any go these things just to meet younger people is doomed.

There are actually many organizations filling what they see as a need—and a benefit—for both sides in the intergenerational community. One that comes up often is Big and Mini, a platform that matches people through video calls after a brief investigation into what interests both parties. Their vision: A community working together to spread wisdom, end social isolation, and make the world a little better— one generation-bridging connection at a time. Sounds good to us.

There are other organizations that match people, many with a focus on mentoring younger people, especially underprivileged young adults or children. Check out this list. And there are some fun ideas that are very contemporary, like connecting through virtual reality. Finally, there are lots apps, similar to dating apps but with a different objective, designed to help you meet people, like residents in your new neighborhood or people in your city who like dance, or whatever. Here is one list. Maybe even NextDoor could be a platform for connecting with younger people near you. Finally, we just heard about Eldera, an organization that seeks to tap into the time and wisdom of 1 billion elders around the world. We’re going to look into it and let you know what we think.

We at Lustre are all about intergenerational relationships. Younger people keep us lively, and we like to believe we are giving them a positive picture of older women—as well as offering what we know when they ask. We are excited that technology makes it all easier.

How do you make younger—or older—friends?