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American Woman's Group?

Good morning ladies! Is anyone a member of this group? I met an American lady here in London over the weekend who is a member and quite enjoyed the group. She is a bit older however and does not work so is able to partake in many of the activities. Was curious if any of you were members and had a good experience and thought it was a worthwhile organization to join?

TIA!

Re: American Woman's Group?

  • I went to a few things in London with this group and it was mostly older, quite wealthy, stay at home expats. I had 2 friends kicked out due to a drinking incident. I was not a fan.
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  • oh wow! Thanks for the heads up frlcb! This woman was indeed quite wealthy (and older and stayed at home as I previously mentioned) and I got the impression it may not be as "fun" as she made out...
  • I was a member in Russia - it was essential to my sanity there and I made some lifelong friends.

    I'm just checking out the group in London. I'm a lot more "eh" about it here. I went to their newcomer coffee last week and it was primarily younger women - 20s to 30s. The lady leading (who was younger than me) said that the demographic has changed a lot in the last few years that there has been an influx of younger women. We'll see. I was rather annoyed to be told the dress code was "smart." (not that I'm a track suit wearer, but I can figure out how to dress myself appropriately without being told).  I'm also an old hag at expat life so I wasn't really jelling with the newcomer ladies who want to talk about how hard it is to live here. 

    The leader did say you could attend a newcomer coffee, a general meeting and two events before having to officially join. Since it's kinda pricey that's what I'm going to do and see if it's more my cuppa.

    Fricb (sp?) - I cannot even imagine what sort of alcohol incident this was. I've never known any American women's event to be tipple free.
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  • Thanks for the info Neeps! It's good to know you can attend that many events without officially joining as it is exepnsive for something you may not be invested in. Think I will go that route as well! Unfortunately won't be able to attend any of the newcomer coffee's because of the time they hold it...
  • I was going to suggest checking out the newcomer's coffee, it is a good way to get a feel for who is in the group and the demographic. Obviously my post was just my personal experience with it but what happened to my friends really put me off. It is a long story but it did involve alcohol the group provided and behavior they deemed inappropriate for the group, and I can tell you they were way out of line (the group, not my friends). It was a huge turnoff. 

     

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  • I tried to join the local one, but their contact people aren't easy to contact. I made several attempts and the only one who responded told me that she's no longer involved and to look on the web page to get to the correct person - of course, I found her information on the web page, so that didn't work. I eventually gave up. 
  • I joined by me and met a handful of friends and younger women at the introductory meeting for new members. It was wonderful in the sense that it's a chance to connect with other women in a similar situation, certainly didn't feel so isolated after that, and I did make some friends I see outside of club activities. However, like PP said, most of the women (not all) are older, established and wealthy women who stay home, so almost all of the events are afternoon events, which I'm usually not able to attend because of work. I did manage to make a handful of events which I did enjoy, but I'm still on the fence about renewing my membership. I think every chapter is going to be a little different in terms of demographics and activities, but I figured it was worth it for me to pay the initiation fee and give it a try. GL!
  • imagefrlcb:

    I was going to suggest checking out the newcomer's coffee, it is a good way to get a feel for who is in the group and the demographic. Obviously my post was just my personal experience with it but what happened to my friends really put me off. It is a long story but it did involve alcohol the group provided and behavior they deemed inappropriate for the group, and I can tell you they were way out of line (the group, not my friends). It was a huge turnoff. 

     

    That's disappointing. We had bigger problems in Russia. No way would we have turned an English speaker away.  Hopefully the snotty ladies that kicked your friends out are gone by now Smile

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  • I joined in Paris, but like the others said, it was more targeted at older, wealthy, non-working women. Most activities took place during the day when I worked. Most of the women were really nice but there was one lady who had been a member for years (back when AWG was a bit more elitist) and she was not fond of having run-of-the-mill common folk in her  group. She exploded at one of the coffee events and told off some other lady because she talked too much and then stormed out of the caf?. charming lady.
  • I'm sure this is dead, but I wanted to put my 2 cents in.

     

    Not only am I a member of the one here, I'm a board member.  I know that many large cities don't have just one group in them, so I'm sure that you could find the others with a bit of research.  (www.fawco.org is a great resource)

    I do know that many of the groups tend to have more of the non-working types involved.  But my group in particular is very different.  We're more of a 'blue collar' type, where almost everyone I know in the club works, or wants to work.  They are also, by and large, here permanently as they are married to Swede's. 

    Personally, this group has been a life saver for me, so I really recommend to anyone in a new area, to at least check it out.  Attend a meeting, attend an intro night, etc, and see if it works for you. Even if you don't find that you like the club, you may find that you like some of the people, and get connections from that.

     

    HTH! :)

  • Thanks for all the responses ladies! I decided to at least go to a mtg/event to check it out and see how it goes...
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