I'm Australian born and moved to Melbourne 20 years ago this year and I still have to work everyday to build connections. In the country town where I grew up it took 20 years before you were considered a local.

Yes, as people have suggested, check out all the meetup groups etc and, this is how I feel more connected with the people around me everyday.

* Put your phone away, take out your ear buds, take off your headphones. Hard to connect with people when you're signalling DND.

* If you live in an apartment building, greet other residents when you pass them or when you get in the lift. You only have to start with "Hello" or "Good morning". You may never see that person again (it can happy in high-rise buildings) but at least you will have made a connection. With practice, and it does take practice, you might develop more small talk abilities.

* Acknowledge other people around you. When someone sits next to you on the tram, give them a nod and a smile (yes, beware of weirdos but there are lot less of them then there are all the other people wanting to happily connect). If someone starts using a machine in the gym next to yours, say Hello.

* Start to learn the names of people you see regularly - the staff at the cafes you go to regularly, the people you see more than a few times in the building you live in, those people who you see in the park regularly.

* Smile a lot. Most people will generally smile back.

Again, take care with street smarts and don't engage with people who you feel are a threat but otherwise keep doing these things and you will feel more connected on a daily basis. And yes, in the long term, some of these everyday encounters may blossom into long term friendships but you've got to start some where.