Staying in touch with friends after university

Whether it’s just a few weeks over summer, or after you leave university for good, it can be difficult to keep in contact with your friends. You may feel like you’re annoying them when you send them messages, or even worry that they’ll forget about you. As final year journalism and public relations student Alistair Berry prepares to say goodbye to his friends, he shares his top tips for staying in touch.

Keep talking

It might sound obvious, but the most important thing is to keep talking! When you’re not seeing each other regularly anymore, it becomes a lot harder to send messages and find things to say. It might feel like you’re annoying or bothering them, but chances are they will appreciate the message. Group chats can be a great way to keep in touch with lots of people at once – just don’t be the one that sends spam!

Go to events together

If you’re planning to go to any festivals or concerts over the summer, try mentioning them to your friends before you buy your tickets. Arranging to go in a group gives you something to look forward to and talk about in the run-up. And you can reminisce and share pictures after.

Plan a holiday

A holiday with your mates can be a great way to stay in touch. Even if the holiday is months away you’ll have lots to talk about in the run-up – what you’ll do, what to take, how amazing it’ll be. If the budget is tight you don’t have to go for two weeks at a five-star resort, you could try hostels or even stay within the UK, visiting theme parks or city attractions. Some societies and sports may do their own trips over the summer, so keep an eye out for these opportunities.

Visit each other at home

It can be amazing to visit your friends in their home town or have them come to stay with you. It might be a completely different part of the country and you can plan to do all sorts of things during the visit – if you live near a big city or attraction you can plan to go for the day, or even an adventure in the countryside can be fun. If your funds have dwindled over the summer, this can be a cheap and easy way to see each other without having to buy expensive concert tickets or booking hotel rooms. Plan to do budget-friendly things like sight-seeing and picnics, and sleep on the sofa (or the spare room if you’re lucky).

Game together

If you’re a bit of a gamer make sure you exchange Steam, PSN or Gamertags before you go home for summer. Thrashing your friends on FIFA or Call of Duty is good fun as well as a great way to stay in touch. This is perfect if there are a lot of you that have the same console, so start asking.

You’ll no doubt have made some amazing friends at university and hopefully these tips will help you keep in touch.