A British expat has blasted Aussies for being friendship ‘snobs’, claiming locals refuse to let newcomers into their tight-knit social circles.Â
Layla, who has lived in Australia for 15 years, said that she doesn’t understand the ‘gatekeeping of friendship groups’ she’s noticed here.Â
She compared the Aussie approach to what she experienced growing up in the UK.Â
‘In the UK, you go on a night out and you meet someone really cool in the toilets, because you always meet your best friends in the toilets,’ she said in a video posted to social media.
‘You’re like “you should come and hang out with me and my friends sometime”.
‘The following weekend you have a barbecue or a hangout and you invite, say she’s French, and she comes and hangs out with you and your friends.’
Layla said that back home, a new friend would quickly become part of the group –Â ‘invited to everything’ from that moment on.Â
But in Australia, she claimed it’s the opposite, slamming locals for keeping friendship circles closed.Â
Layla was not happy with how Aussies managed their friendship groups and didn’t intergrate them
‘Well, in Australia you meet someone you get along with, you are introduced to all their friends, but you never crossover,’ she said.
‘You’re over there, they’re still all over there. You don’t fully get invited to anything that they’re all doing, but the one friend you get along with, they’ll still hang out with you and come to all your things.’
She claimed she was not alone and insisted it had nothing to do with the culture on the Gold Coast, where she lives.Â
‘This gatekeeping on friendships. I know I’m not the only person who thinks this because every English chick I’ve met in the past couple of years has said the same thing,’ she said.
‘What is it with keeping everyone very separate.’
Australians quickly jumped into the comments to back Layla’s claims, admitting they had noticed the same thing.Â
‘This is very accurate for Brisbane. If you didn’t go to school here or if your established high school friendship group, you’re on the outer forever,’ one person said.
‘As an Aussie, I share my friendship circles but they aren’t shared with me. It’s very frustrating so yes this is very real,’ another said.
Many Aussies won’t introduce different friendship groups to each otherÂ
Do Aussies make enough effort to mix their friendship groups?Â
‘It’s so common to have multiple birthday parties for your different friend groups. Like your work friends and then your high school friends and then your friends who you made as an adult. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I want to meet my friend’s friends,’ a third person said.
Many Australians online agreed, saying it’s often difficult to make new friends.
Backing that up, a new University of Sydney report revealed that more than 40 per cent of Australians aged 15 to 25 struggle with loneliness.
One in four reported experiencing it in waves, while one in seven said they had felt isolated for at least two years.
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British woman living in Australia blasts Aussies for being snobs: ‘You don’t fully get invited to anything’