Hey,
FIrst off, I hope you settle into your new surroundings soon
As for meeting people, I woul suggest finding local clubs etc that youd be into. Maybe aswell find some voluntary work for while youre looking for paid work. All of this will help you to continue to build your confidence, help you enjoy yourself and pass the time and be a great way to meet people. That is, for both friendship and possible dating.
As for when you do meet someone, should you have been open beforehand, or disclose later, well it kind of depends on how you feel about that. Some people prefer to be open and then, like you said, if someone is interested, theyre interested and already know/already have accepted you.
I on the other hand, never tell people unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e managers for background checks, and when I began dating my girlfriend etc).
Id rather get to know someone. That way I can spend time to get to know them and see if I really do like them and also you can begin to sort of read that person. That should help give a good idea of how theyd take things. With my girlfriend, when we just liked eachother and she didnt know about me yet. I mentioned the "friend" Id known in school who has transitioned, just to get an idea of how shed react :p
But, this doesnt really help too much actually, as she didnt really get it. Shed not heard of trans people before. But she is absolutely amazing. All I needed to do was explain once, and that was that.
I personally think its best to get to know someone first and then tell them when the time is right, obviously before it gets too serious, but you know its going somewhere. This also suits me because I am fully stealth, and wouldnt ever compromise that because not live as stealth, I just dont identify with that at all.
