Meet the 'Belfast Girlies' - a new group for women to meet up and make new friendships while living in the city.
When Francesca McKee moved from Magherafelt to Belfast with her boyfriend, she came across more and more women at a loose end trying to find something to allow them to reach out and socialise with like-minded people.
The Renewable Energy Engineer also runs a travel blog known as 'Frans Travels' so she decided to use her platform to create a safe space for women in Belfast.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Francesca said: "Since I moved up, I had been speaking to more and more girls who wanted to do different activities that they normally wouldn't do or else they actually didn't have many friends up in Belfast to do this stuff with. So this is why Belfast Girlies was created.
"I thought with having a bit of a platform, I may be able to use it to give girls the confidence to do activities and events together and to make new friends."
With the idea to plan a range of events that she knew she would enjoy while offering something for everyone to step out of their comfort zone and not feel nervous about turning up on their own. With almost 500 followers after only a handful of events, Francesca knew she was on to something special.
"I wasn't able to find any such groups for girls about Belfast so I just thought I would try it out and see if it worked," she said. "So far so good and the feedback has been unbelievable. So many girls have messaged and said it was just what the city needed and what they needed as they may have not had anyone in Belfast before.
"It was amazing to see the first event most girls came by themselves and already made friends - Its crazy!"
With a pizza night, beach picnic and pub quiz already behind them, Francesca has big plans to explore everything the city has to offer with her newfound friends and make the most of Belfast's resources. With a trip on the new Lagan Hydrobikes on the cards, she also has her sights set on pottery making and painting with prosecco.
Francesca continued: "Pizza and pints was a great launch night to start off and everyone enjoyed themselves. Most of us ended up going out afterwards and having the craic.
"The beach meet-up was also lovely as we were able to do it in a chill setting. I just to give girls the confidence to do things they usually wouldn't and to make friends as living in the city can be quite lonely."
To find out more about Belfast Girlies, see here.
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