Hundreds of women forging new friends through walking group City Girls Who Walk
NEW YORK -- Women are connecting on walks and forming new friendships.
They're part of a group called City Girls Who Walk, which originated in New York City and spread to cities across the country.
Every Sunday, hundreds of women of all different ages and backgrounds meet at the corner of Central Park and West 72nd Street to simply go for a walk.
"I loved it, it was so much fun. I meet these amazing women right here,"
"I was just scrolling through Instagram and I came across a post that was announcing this group of girls met every Sunday," said Alexandra Ciobanu.
City Girls Who Walk was created by fitness entrepreneur Brianna Joye. She posted a video on her TikTok last March looking for girls who wanted to go for a walk in Central Park. She said after the pandemic, she wanted a way to connect with others while being active.
"I posted the video, it started to spread everywhere, and at our first walk, we had 250 girls show up," Joye said.
She came to New York City from Michigan to attend Pace University, so she knows what it's like firsthand having to make friends in a new city.
"I think a lot of girls are lonely in the city. I think it's harder now more than ever to meet friends," she said.
City Girls Who Walk has more than 11,000 followers on TikTok and 34,000 on Instagram. Girls come out for a walk and leave with new friends.
"Me being from Kansas, it was nice to meet someone not necessarily from New York and looking for the same things I am, not knowing someone moving here and being able to find other girls to connect with,"
Ciobanu is from Milan and relocated to Little Italy in New York City just last month.
"I like that it's such a social atmosphere. Everyone's just talking to each other, it was easy to get to start talking to someone, to get to know people. So I really like it," she said.
What's next? Joye said she wants to start hosting networking events and brunches to give the ladies more chances to deepen their new connections.
"We're going to do more happy hours, we're going to do more events, more networking things. So the girls can not only walk together but we can also hangout together," she said.
