From “Let’s Grab Drinks” to Actually Hanging Out—Meet ‘We Should Be Friends’

Making friends in Vancouver can feel about as easy as finding a rental under $2,000—technically possible, but mostly an uphill battle. The city’s reputation for being socially standoffish is well-documented, with both transplants and lifelong locals lamenting how hard it is to break past surface-level niceties. But Katrina Martin wasn’t having it.

In 2017, Martin moved to Vancouver from Ontario, certain that her extroverted personality would slice through the city’s infamous social chill like a hot knife through butter. It did not. “I was convinced I’d be fine,” says Martin. “Unfortunately, I was wrong.”

Years later, she shared her struggles in a TikTok, expecting maybe a few sympathetic comments. Instead, the post went viral, and was flooded with responses from people who felt the same way. “I got a lot of comments from people saying they’d lived here for years and still had no friends,” recalls Martin. “Some even said they had to leave because it was so hard to meet people.”

So she did something few Vancouverites dare to do: she made plans. Not the casual, low-commitment “let’s grab a drink sometime” we’re all used to, but an actual show-up-or-don’t scenario—time, place, everything spelled out. She posted an open invite: she’d be at Kits Beach on Saturday, ready to hang. Over 100 people turned up, turning a hopeful hangout into a bona fide success. And just like that, We Should Be Friends was born.

What started as a simple beach meetup quickly snowballed into something bigger. Martin soon realized that massive, unstructured gatherings could feel intimidating, so she refined her approach: smaller, activity-based events designed to make socializing easy. Now, We Should Be Friends hosts everything from Sip and Swap book nights to pottery workshops, live music sessions and even cold-plunge socials (because nothing bonds people like shared suffering).

The response? Overwhelming. “I just got a DM from someone saying they’re now an auntie to a baby because they met their best friend through book club,” says Martin. “Another person told me they met their new roommate at an event. Someone else met a friend here, and now they’re moving to Australia together.”

And yes, most people show up alone.“Within half an hour, the nerves go away when you realize everyone else here came alone too,” assures Martin.

But it’s not just about making friends—it’s about changing Vancouver’s social culture. Martin sees We Should Be Friends as a direct response to the city’s loneliness epidemic—something even the U.S. surgeon general has flagged as a major public health issue. “Society has started to romanticize social isolation,” she says, referencing the online trend of celebrating cancelled plans and solo nights in. “It sounds nice until you realize—no, we actually do need people.”

After so many events, the platonic matchmaker has some straightforward advice for making these connections stick: “If you meet someone you connect with, don’t just swap numbers—make a plan to hang out within the next two weeks.” According to Martin, adult friendships aren’t as elusive as we make them out to be. “I always say adult friendships take a lot of time and intention. You need to keep showing up, again and again. And you need to prioritize it,” she says. For anyone tired of waiting for friendships to magically materialize, We Should Be Friends offers the perfect solution: structured, no-pressure, guaranteed fun events where no one’s judging you for striking up a conversation with a stranger. In fact, that’s precisely the plan.  

The Deets

Follow @weshouldbefriendsvancouver on Instagram or visit weshouldbefriends.org to sign up for upcoming events.