Where did you meet your best friends?

High school. We lived in the same town for a few years, then I left the country to travel the world, and my friend moved to another city to attend university. We never lived in the same country again, but have shared in each other's lives for almost 50 years.

One I met at college almost thirty years ago. He had a stroke last year and is now a wheelchair user. We had argued a couple of years back and fell out for a while and then made it up before his illness, thankfully. I recommend to everyone to keep on good terms with your old friends. When the bad stuff happens, you'll miss them like hell and you will regret any unresolved silliness.

I have four best friends. I met one a bar who introduced me to the second friend. Third was a co-worker, the fourth is a guy I went to high school with.

OP, this is, after all, DL. Shouldn't the question be where did you meet your best friends and how many have you fucked and still remained best friends?

He was the barista at the neighborhood coffee shop in our gay ghetto. He was extremely narcissistic but could be the most loving and funniest guy you'd ever want to know. Then his life fell apart and he turned his back on everyone he knew and he moved back home to California. It took about a year but he eventually killed himself.

That's more a typical DL tale, R5.

Fucking is how you kill a friendship; it's always a parting gift for someone.

R7 Not true! We were friends for several years, did a series of curiosity fucks, and we're still close friends 15 years later.

different places. all of them are dead now. i'm only 42 and all of my friends are dead. how tragic for me.

Met my best friend at the Y, over 20 years ago, in the shower. We did go on a date, but knew we'd work better as friends.

did you fuck his asshole of did he fuck yours, r10?

Early years; college for that core group of friends you keep for life. Not high school in my case. In my early thirties, met my best friend at the Gay/Lesbian FilmFest In LA years ago, where we were both volunteering. Later years, at a 12-step meeting.

Great question. I met my best, long-lasting friends at places I was happy in. My best friend I met while doing my Masters degree. We were a small group (14 people) and at least half became pretty tight, for years. Another friend I often see I met at work, at a company I was happy in, as well.

Everywhere I was unhappy in, I may have formed friendships, but they never lasted after I left the place.

College job. Him, drop dead gorgeous, model material, but never actually knew it. Amazing a beauty can be insecure too. People would do double takes as he walked down the street. Saw him the first day and was totally intimidated, the type I would never have spoken a word to. A few days in, he calls my line and says he's bored and lets hang out at break. 35 years later we are family. I'm closer to him than my own brothers. I'd give him a kidney in an instant.

I have a handful from childhood (small town so went to school with the same people grades K through 12). A couple I still see and keep in touch with and a couple that it is more random correspondence, and in some ways probably are not as close, but I do feel a pretty strong bond when we do have contact.

A handful from college, some I was close friends with in college and some I got to know better after graduation.

Most recently, I have developed some good friendships with people in my neighborhood. Whether these will be as long lasting only time will tell, but we have been getting together over 5 years. Since we are all within a few blocks of each other, the friendships have not really been tested by distance.

Actually, some of my closest friends now are probably my siblings.

Most I met at my last job.

A few I met while I was in the Air Force.

My best male friend - at High School. He came from a pretty awful family - there was him, his younger brother, his older brother, an older sister and his parents. The younger brother and the sister were both arseholes and the parents lived down in London, leaving the kids in the care of the older brother and sister. When I was fifteen, news got out that the elder brother - who was seen as a bit of a god at our school - was in fact gay. He was impossibly gorgeous in my eyes at the time, and I was surprised when the older brother asked me out. We, ahem, ended up banging each other's brains out for the majority of the weekend, thinking it would be safe because the sister was staying with her boyfriend in Stirling and the younger brother was staying with friends (later we found out that he had spent the weekend in deep shit with the Police for stealing and torching cars). Sunday morning and we went downstairs and lo and behold, there's the other brother in the kitchen with his girlfriend, both of whom burst out laughing when we came in. Yes, I was clothed, no, the shaggable god wasn't. Whilst he fled upstairs, I got to talking to his brother - who was in my year - and I discovered that whilst he had a reputation of being a bit intimidating (he had a reputation for being hard-faced and looking like a billion dollars), we actually had a lot in common. We've been friends since then - just over twenty one years now. The girlfriend fell by the wayside, and the brother vanished off to Vancouver, where he recently got married to his very own Mountie, the sister fucked off up her own arse, I jest, it was to Liverpool and the younger brother got himself arrested again and is currently serving the last three years of his latest jail sentence (he is allegedly *very* popular in jail...), he helped me out when my own family life got too much, my personal life fell apart, etc. Scary thing is - I helped deliver his daughter (mostly by allowing his then-girlfriend-and-now-wife squeeze the lifeforce from my hand and mopping up a terrifying amount of blood and shit - yes, women do shit themselves during childbirth and I told them the next time would be in a nice birthing pool in a nice hospital. It wasn't) and he pretty much saved my life when I nearly ended it a few years ago and yeah, that old cliche is true - I'd take a bullet for this guy.

I've always admired people that have a group of long lasting close "best" friends. I've always had one or two great, beloved friends at a time. One reason is that I've moved around a lot throughout my young and adult life. Recently, I've made it a goal to cultivate and maintain close friends.

My best friend in high school was a highlight and brought a lot of laughter and brevity to me, a more serious and sullen teen. We had so much fun together. He had a great sense of humor and fun, helping to bring that out in me.

In my 20's I struck up a trusted and wonderful friendship of 18 years. A co-worker. Eventually he moved to another state, but our friendship endured. We were close enough to visit back and forth a few times a year. Our thing was a beach trip every summer. This friend really taught me the art of friendship and how to lean on each other, without it being a drain on the other. Oddly, as quickly as we became good friends, our friendship fell a part after so many years. What got in the way I attribute to some of life's more stressful circumstances that happened to both of us at the same time. I also went through a spurt of maturity that changed the dynamics of our friendship.

I considered a partner to be my best friend too. That was partly true, and even lasted for quite awhile after we broke up. We weren't fuck buddies. Finally, that dissolved and I'm at peace with finally no longer having any contact.

Currently, I think I'm on a better track of maintaining good friends. They're more of a smattering of friends that bring different kinds of positive influences to my life. Hopefully, I'm doing the same for them.

Finally, I think about several people I've known throughout my life. There was potential to develop good solid friends, but frankly, I let other things get in the way. I let relationships be more important than potential friends and I shy'd (sp?) away from some if someone encountered some serious challenges. Not proud of that, and I've wondered how the quality of my life would be different of I'd stuck around for them.

My friendship past has been spotty. I'm learning it takes work in a good way and being more accepting of people, warts and all.

they're all dead!

We met via a online hookup. Turns out we really didn't connect well sexually ( despite both being attractive) since both of us are too much the top for the other one. We were cool about it just not a good fit sexually but kept chatting. My best friend 15 years later and best men at each other's weddings in the last two years

sad asses

Regardless of the truth, I always claim we met while I was shopping for sex workers.

None think it's funny even though I always say they're majorly hung.

School. Backpacking in Japan. Online advertisement for a book club. My part-time job from college.

I don't really have any friends. I think I get along pretty well with people, and don't have trouble making conversation, but I just don't keep friends, I guess?

I've also moved around a lot, which doesn't help.

My best friend was a fraternity pledge brother. We met in Feb, 1978, and have been close for going on 38 years now. Pretty much never had a cross word with him.

Met my childhood friend in 1976 when my family moved across the street from her. I still remember the day she knocked on the door and said to my mom, "Hi, I live across the street and notice you have two girls about my age. I was wondering if they would want to come over and play." We are still friends to this day, 40 years later although we live in different states now.

I have another very close friend who I met in High School in the 80s. We talk often and see each other as much as we can.

Have another friend who I met when I worked retail at Mervyns department store. I see her every weekend when we go for dinner or trips to Vegas or movies, etc. Known her over 20 years. She's probably the one I'm closest to.

Another from college. Over 20 years now.

Several from softball teams that I have known over 10-15 years now.

I'm extremely lucky.

1. At work. 1a. Her boyfrriend

2. Had sex with 2a. His next boyfriend 2b. His next boyfriend after that 2c. HIs flatmate 2d. His flatmate's boyfriend at the time

3. On the internet 3a. His boyfriend

4. Was my neighbour

5. Went to school with 6. Went to school with 7. Went to school with 8. Went to school with

Lord gawd R27, what the hell are you talking about?

I met them after their extensive, formal screening and delousing.

I've cut off all friends from my life. Mostly because I tend to only keep contact with people I can meet in person. I used to move around a lot and made loads of fairly close friends but when I moved I always left the friends I'd made behind. Now I don't bother get new ones anymore and don't care to keep contact with the old ones. There's actually only one I chat with few times a year, although the last time was maybe in March. I used to date her in high school, when I was still doing girls, and we ended up becoming great friends. There have been long gaps when we haven't been in contact but then when we talk nothing has ever changed, we're still the same friends/old lovers we used to be.

R30, is it because you're no longer "doing girls" and presumably are 'doing' guys and it's difficult for you to let them see who you've become? It's just that your description seems painful.

R31, no pain here. I've been only with men for over 20 years and all my friends know it. It's just that I used to move around a lot when I was studying and after that had to keep changing cities due to work. It's easy for me to make close friends but also easy to let go of them. Whenever I moved to a new town I was in contact with previous friends for a while until it just fizzled out. I'm out of sight out of mind kind of a guy. It is what it is. Some people can't understand I can act like that with them, especially the younger ones, but when you've made number of friends in over ten cities and know you probably never see them again after a year or two you just learn to let go. Doesn't mean I don't remember each and every one of those guys but there's no way I want to keep in contact with all of them.

When I joined Facebook almost 10 years ago some of my previous friends started popping up out of nowhere which was a shock. I had to close my account after a day which probably pissed off many. Now I'm alone and I'm completely fine with it.

I’m a total loner. I chased away my friends during my awful alcoholism. Recovering now and hopefully I’ll make some new ones.

Technically, can you have more than 1 best friend? It sort of defeats the definition of best, doesn’t it?

I have two best friends, both very far away sadly.

One is from childhood (same neighborhood) and the other from when I first came out & went out to the bars.

Everyone else has passed like sand through my fingers. My life and geographic location has changed so often that they just slip away. No falling out or anything, ended our time on loving terms but without being in each other's physical spheres it just kinda ends.

Mostly through high school, college, work, church, mutual friends. I'm still friends with people I knew in high school, way back in 1996. I have become good friends with several bartenders. That was handy in my bar fly days.