- Newcomers to the Isle of Man say making friends can be hard
- Women-only networking group is building relationships across towns
- Events include ‘sip and paint’ nights, which combine wine and with drawing pictures
- Aim is to connect beyond work
- She warns the island can feel cliquey
- Social media helps people meet
A new female networking group is still thriving on the Isle of Man six months after its launch.
The group was founded last autumn by two sisters who have relocated from Dubai.
They say the island can be isolating for people trying to build friendships from scratch.
Rosie Routledge, 27, says she and her sister launched the group after seeing how difficult it can be to meet new people outside work, even on a small island.
‘Me and my sister have set up a female networking group here just to kind of bring women together on the island, have some nice fun, different events, and yeah, just connect people, she told Expose News.
Rosie also says the project is personal: she and her sister wanted to ‘make new friends’ themselves and use events as a way to ‘connect new people’ while they settle into island life.
The model is deliberately activity-led.
Rosie says what is missing is a stronger rhythm of events that feel a bit different to the standard weekend routine.
In her view, the island needs more reoccurring and ‘boujee style’ events ranging from classes to themed nights.
PR-savvy entrepreneur Rosie Routledge is good at getting in the papers, as well as making waves on social media. Launch night made in the IoM Today.
The first ‘sip and paint night’ was hosted last autumn.
Cocktail-making classes are another example of the kind of format she believes could work.
The motivation, she says, is as much social as it is practical.
Rosie recalls her sister knowing someone who came to the island, stayed a few months, but left after failing to make friends.
That experience, she says, reinforced the need to create routes into friendship groups that do not depend on school networks, long-standing family ties or workplace teams.
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman. The ‘sip and paint’ creator during a chat with Expose News. Check the links at the bottom of the copy, and watch our exclusive vids
Rosie believes the networking group can help both attendees and local venues.
Hiring a venue for an organised event, she argues, can bring customers to hospitality businesses at a time when she has heard concerns about footfall.
She also links the issue to young people moving away for university and the challenge of keeping social life vibrant enough that people want to stay or return.
She is candid that the social landscape can feel closed to newcomers.
Rosie says she has been told ‘be aware of her, be aware of her’ about different people, but she has tried not to let gossip dictate her approach.
‘I’ll have to make my own judgement on everyone,’ she says, arguing that listening to warnings about different people would make it impossible to meet anyone at all.
In that sense, she says, TikTok and other platforms have been unexpectedly useful.
Rosie says social media helped her and her sister make friends soon after arriving, turning online conversations into real-world introductions.
For a group built around connection, she argues, the digital layer is not a distraction.
It is part of the solution.
- To read more about the adventures of influencer and entrepreneur Rose Routledge and her sister on Expose News
