Regulars

Find your group of friends in Newcastle.

Making friends as an adult is hard, especially after moving somewhere new. Regulars puts you in a small group of people you're likely to get on with, and gives you a month of regular meet-ups to turn strangers into your friend group.

Take the free questionnaire

What you get

  • A group picked for you

    Three people of the same gender, at a similar stage of life, chosen from a questionnaire built on research into how adults make friends.

  • Real, verified people

    Everyone confirms their ID before they're matched.

  • The details sorted

    A regular night and a good place to meet, so nobody has to organise anything.

  • A group chat

    It opens 12 hours before you first meet, so you can say hello or let people know you're running late.

Why we meet for four weeks

Lots of people would love a close group of friends, the kind you see every week and can count on. It usually happens by accident at school, uni or a first job, and gets much harder once life moves on.

Research from the University of Kansas found it takes around 50 hours together to become casual friends, and around 90 hours to become friends. That's hard to reach if you only ever meet someone once.

So for the first four weeks your group meets at the same place, once a week. It gives everyone time to get to know each other properly. After that it's up to you, and we hope you keep going.

How it works

  1. 1

    Fill in the questionnaire

    It's free and takes 5 to 8 minutes. We ask about the things that research shows matter most for friendship, like what you value, your sense of humour and what you enjoy. You also pick the nights you're free and the parts of Newcastle that suit you.

  2. 2

    Confirm your ID

    A quick check with your passport or driving licence and a selfie, so everyone you meet is who they say they are. It's done by a recognised specialist ID company, and your ID isn't stored by us.

  3. 3

    We find your group

    Once we have enough people in Newcastle, we'll get in touch to tell you we have a potential group for you, with the night and area.

  4. 4

    Confirm your place

    To join your group there's a small fee of £7.99, our founding member price for our first members. If your group doesn't go ahead, you get it back automatically.

  5. 5

    Meet your group

    12 hours before the first meet you'll see who's in your group and where to go, and your group chat opens. Then you meet at the same place, once a week for four weeks, so the group has a proper chance to get to know each other.

  6. 6

    Tell us how it went

    After the first meet you can tell us privately whether the group suits you. If it doesn't, we'll find you a new group at no cost.

What it could look like

Two made-up examples to give you an idea. We'll share real stories after our first groups.

Amira, 31

Moved back to Newcastle after six years in London. Her uni friends live all over the country and her school friends are busy with young kids. She has plenty of people to say hello to, but nobody to call on a Friday night.

  1. MatchedPicks Thursdays in the City Centre and is matched with three women in their late twenties and thirties, two of them also new to the city.
  2. Week 1They spend most of the night swapping stories about moving back home and comparing notes on the best places to eat.
  3. Week 3Someone suggests a pottery class, and they book it for a Saturday.
  4. AfterThe four weeks finish and they keep Thursdays going on their own.

Tom, 28

Came to Newcastle for an engineering job. He gets on well with people at work, but most of them go home to their partners. He's tried a running club and the gym, and neither led to much.

  1. MatchedPicks Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Quayside or City Centre, and is matched with three lads around his age.
  2. Week 1They go to a quiz night on the Quayside, come third and argue about one answer all evening.
  3. Week 2One of them decides the group isn't for him and gets a new group. The other three carry on.
  4. AfterTwo months later they still meet on Tuesdays, and they've started five-a-side on Sundays.

Our promises

Read the full refund policy
Juan, founder of Regulars

Why I'm building this

Hi, I'm Juan. I've moved around a lot, and every time I've found the same thing: work is fine and the city is great, but making real friends as an adult is surprisingly hard.

My girlfriend and I have talked about it for ages. What we'd both love is our own group of friends, people you see every week who end up feeling like family. I know a lot of people feel the same, and plenty of them feel quite lonely because of it.

Regulars is my attempt to help. I'm starting in Newcastle, keeping it small, and reading every piece of feedback myself. If you have a question or something goes wrong, you can reach me directly.

Juan on LinkedInEmail me

Questions

Is this a dating app?

No. Groups are same-gender and set up for friendship. Anyone treating it like dating is removed.

How much does it cost?

The questionnaire is free. When we have a group for you, it's £7.99 to confirm your place for the four weeks. That's our founding member price. Food and drinks at the venue are paid by you.

What if we can't find a group for me?

You won't pay anything unless we have a group for you. If you've paid and your group doesn't go ahead, or we haven't found one within 21 days, you get your money back automatically.

What if I don't get on with my group?

After the first meet you tell us privately how it went. If the group isn't right for you, we'll put you in a new one at no cost. Nobody else sees what you said.

What if I can't make one of the weeks?

That's fine, it happens. Try to make at least three of the four, because that's when groups really start to click.

Why do you check my ID?

So everyone you meet is a real, verified adult. The check is done by a recognised specialist company. We don't keep a copy of your ID: we're only told whether it was confirmed.

When do I find out who's in my group?

12 hours before your first meet. You'll see everyone's first names and the venue, and your group chat opens.

Where do groups meet?

Friendly pubs, cafés and easy activities in City Centre, Quayside & Gateshead Quays, Ouseburn, Jesmond & Gosforth, The coast, places where you can actually hear each other.

Your future friends are probably already in Newcastle.

Take the free questionnaire