Girls Night #300: How to Live Daily Life with your Best Friends (Even as an adult!) — with Liz Forkin Bohannon

Jul 7, 2025

Liz Forkin-Bohannon, an entrepreneur from Portland and community-building enthusiast, joins to discuss how to cultivate meaningful friendships as adults. She shares her journey from feeling isolated to living next to her best friends. The conversation dives into the mindset shift needed for friendship, the four pillars of lasting community, and why consistency is key before feeling connected. Liz also reveals her unique strategy of finding connections through 'losers' rather than established friend groups, offering practical tips for creating your own intentional community.

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INSIGHT

Move For Friends Boosts Happiness

Moving to be near friends is often seen as radical in the US, but science supports it strongly.
Seeing friends three times a week increases life satisfaction like earning $150,000 more annually.

INSIGHT

Community Eases Pain, Not Pain Itself

Life’s hardships are inevitable, but community insulates us from suffering by sharing our pain.
Feeling alone in pain causes suffering; connection with others lightens the emotional burden.

ADVICE

Look For Losers To Build Community

To build community, seek out those who also lack connections instead of trying to break into established groups.
Start with someone in the same situation and commit to consistent shared time to grow trust and friendship.

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Have you ever scrolled through Instagram seeing friend groups on vacation together, celebrating everything as a unit, and genuinely wondered, "How do they all live in the same city? How did they find each other? And how can I find my people?"

Maybe you've moved somewhere new and you're still making small talk with acquaintances months later. Or you're tired of being the one who always has to reach out first, scheduling friend dates 30 days in advance like business meetings. If you've ever felt like everyone else has their tight-knit friend group figured out while you're still searching for yours, you're not alone.

In this episode of Girls Night, Stephanie sits down with entrepreneur and community builder Liz Forkin Bohannon to talk about how to build the kind of intentional community we're all craving — even when you're starting from scratch.

What You'll Learn:

Why most Americans have friendship completely backwards (and the mindset shift that changes everything)

The four pillars of building lasting community that actually work in real life

Why you need to commit to consistency BEFORE you feel connected (not the other way around)

The "look for the losers" strategy that's more effective than trying to break into existing friend groups

How Liz went from knowing zero people in Portland to living next door to her best friends

The practical steps they took to buy property together and create intentional community

How to have difficult conversations that deepen trust instead of damaging relationships

The science behind why friendship is literally a matter of life and death (the data will shock you)

You'll relate to this episode if you've ever: felt like everyone else has their friend group figured out while you're still searching, moved somewhere new and struggled to build meaningful connections beyond small talk, or wondered if deep adult friendships are actually possible outside of college.

We cover everything from why Americans live in isolation to practical steps for building community, from the loneliness of moving to a new city to creating support systems that last through every life stage.

Stephanie shares about living nine minutes from her best friend in Spain and how it's revolutionizing her perspective on proximity and friendship.

Liz vulnerably walks through her journey from complete isolation growing up to now sharing property with multiple families in Portland, proving that intentional community isn't just a dream — it's totally doable.

Resources Mentioned:

→ Love Your Single Life course for navigating singleness with confidence https://stephaniemaywilson.com/single...

→ Just Married course for newlyweds building strong foundations https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justma...

→ Becoming Mama course for intentional motherhood preparation https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomi...

→ Help finding (and affording!) a great therapist https://stephaniemaywilson.com/counse...

Connect with Girls Night:

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📱 Follow Stephanie on Instagram / smaywilson

📱 Follow Liz on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/lizbohannon/?hl=en

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🌐 Show notes and resources https://www.girlsnightpodcast.com/

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