Guides · Making friends
Making friends · 4 min read · updated 2026-10-09

Making friends in Toronto, winter included.

Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities on earth and, by its own residents' account, one of the harder ones to break into socially. How the city works, and a winter-proof way to meet one new person a week.

The 'Toronto is cold' cliché

Toronto residents say two things about their city: that it is the most diverse in the world, and that it is hard to make friends in. Both are true, and they're connected. In a city where half the population was born abroad, most people's close circles are still built through family, school and community, and newcomers — from Vancouver as much as from Lagos or Manila — report that Torontonians are friendly in the moment and slow to follow up. Then from December to March the city goes indoors, and the follow-up gets even slower.

Winter-proof the format

The winter social life that works in Toronto is short, indoor and near a subway or streetcar stop. Queen West and Ossington, Kensington and College Street, the Annex, Leslieville and the Danforth all have dense strips of cafés, wine bars and pubs within a two-minute walk of transit. One person, ninety minutes, somewhere warm, home by ten: that's a format you can keep up through February.

How BUDMO fits

BUDMO matches you with one verified person — or a table of four to six — who is in your part of the city tonight, and picks a vetted venue near transit. Your deposit becomes venue credit at check-in. Evenings run 6 to 10:30 pm. Afterwards you both privately say if you'd meet again; a mutual yes sets the next one. Toronto hosted World Cup 2026 matches at BMO Field, and weeks like that are when the city is most open to meeting someone new.

Join the Toronto waitlist

We'll message you the day BUDMO opens where you are. Waitlist members get the first invitations.

Questions

Short answers.

Is BUDMO 19+ in Ontario?

Yes — BUDMO follows provincial law.

Will I meet people from my community or outside it?

Whichever you like. We match on languages and area; the city's diversity does the rest.

When does Toronto open?

Toronto is on our roadmap after the first European cities. Join the waitlist.

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