Making friends

[KatherineJones]

Hi. I am Kate from the UK. I am in the early(ish) stages of transition and in a bit of a dilemma. To me there seems to be two distinct ages groups of the transgender community in my locality. (Bristol, Bath, West Country). A young vibrant crowd between the ages of 18-25 ish and those that are of a more mature age (60 ish +). I am unfortunately slap bang in the middle of these age groups. I know that some of you will say that age should not offer no boundaries to friendship and I would agree. I have joined the social and support group for the older crowd and they are very nice but I feel that I am somehow missing out on something. My counsellor has said that during the transition process you might feel as though you will want to relive a lost youth, something along the lines of being a teenage girl again. I am very green on this matter and would welcome any feedback on this because if was a young trans girl I am not sure I would want to go partying with an early forty-something. I am very lucky that since coming out in the summer all of my male and female friends and family have been 100% supportive and I thought that would be enough. This journey seems to change so quickly it is scary. I have in the past week or so realized that I want to play a bigger part in the trans community because non trans folk will never fully understand exactly how we feel. I still feel youthful and full of energy but I am beginning to feel that I won't find friends that I can fully connect with. When I say friends I don't mean the electronic type (no offence meant to any of you guys) but being a people person I mean friends to go shopping with, a coffee and a good natter. Are there any websites in the UK that cater for transgender woman who seek nothing more than friendship. Perhaps I am asking too much or I need to exercise a bit of patience. Any feedback would be appreciated. Feeling confused. Kate 

[Megan.]

Hi Kate, I'm not local (though I used be a bristolian), but I'm 38, I guess that puts me in the middle too! My GP was rude enough to call me old when I saw her, as she's only dealt with young ( under 18) trans people before. I've found a great local support group (Cambridge Diamonds) who've got a real mix of ages including some similar to mine. You might see if there is a Bristol group for the Beaumont society. It's still early days for me (out to family and a few close friends) too. Best of luck. Meg.