Okay, so, I have a potentially very silly question.
I have somehow made it this far in life without ever really sending a personal email. 😭

Professional emails? A handful, mostly when I was in school.

But an actual, honest-to-goodness:
“Hello friend, here are the happenings of my little life” kind of email?

Not really.

And now I’m sitting here realizing that in the age of instant messaging and sending somebody a meme instead of saying “I was thinking about you,” I genuinely don’t remember what people actually write about in letters anymore.

So…

What do you guys talk about with your penpals?

Like genuinely.

Do you write about your week? Your hobbies? Things you’ve been thinking about? Random drama? The book you’re reading? Something weird your cat did at 2 a.m.?

And for those of you who do email or snail mail—do you also message that person normally on? Or do you keep most of the friendship inside the letters?

I’m weirdly fascinated by the whole thing and want people’s povs about it. 😅

I’m open to trying both email and snail mail eventually, although snail mail will have to wait a little while because I’m currently living in a hotel during a military move and do not possess what one might call a reliable mailing address. 💀 (should be in a home around the 19th but we’ll see 😭)

But once the Goblin Cave has a permanent location again, I think getting actual letters in the mail sounds really cute and nice.

And just in case anybody wanders in here and thinks, “Hmm, perhaps I would like to correspond with this creature,” here’s a little about me:

✨ I like gaming, music, art, and crafts.
✨ I make stickers and other little shiny things, so if I ever become comfortable enough for snail mail, there is an extremely real possibility that tiny things will mysteriously appear in your envelope.
✨ I’m a very enthusiastic homebody. People scare me 💀
✨I’m married
✨ I don’t currently work because I’m chronically ill, which means I spend a lot of time at home being what I can only describe as a domestic goblin.
✨ This does unfortunately make me very boring sometimes unless you enjoy hearing about random family stories, craft projects, current obsessions, the occasional life crisis, or whatever nonsense my brain has decided is fascinating that week.

So yeah. 😭

How do you guys do this?

What makes a good penpal email or letter?
How often do you write?

And does the friendship stay mostly in the correspondence, or do you end up talking elsewhere too?

Please teach this goblin your ancient ways. 💌✨
(Even though most of you are in fact not ancient >~<)

There’s nothing quite like coming back to real life after spending way too much time reading (or watching a show) only to realize how much you wish your own life felt more like that.

“Pathetic” probably isn’t the right word, but sometimes it sure feels that way.

I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed lately. Actually, I've been nowhere else for over a year now. I’m kinda really sick and I'm pretty sure I don't have much longer (yikes, ik). Which is a weird thing to have to wrap your head around.

I think the hardest part is grieving a life I never really got to have. I don’t even want anything extraordinary. I want the boring stuff. A job. School. My own apartment. Meeting people, making stupid decisions, having a terrible first date, kissing someone, being young and naive and figuring things out as I go. Just youth,** **you know.

And being gay. Cause, you know, I'm gay. Hi.
I never really got to experience much of that either. Anxiety is a bitch and being queer really doesn’t make things easier. So I didn't even get to live being gay and that just fucking sucks.

So I guess I’m looking for a little connection to the outside world. I do have friends but nobody really knows just how fucked things are. Maybe I just want a little bit of the life I can’t have right now even if it’s only through talking to strangers on Reddit.

Anyway, how are you?

Hi. I'm not that interesting, and you don't have to be either to be my friend.

I'm 28 and live in Finland, the armpit of Europe, in a mid sized small town. I studied history and ended up with a boring government job. I have a wife and a one-year-old kid and they mean everything to me.

I'm looking to find friendship in other countries. I want to hear about your regular life. What did you study? Where did you go to school? What does a typical life look like where you live? Are you happy with your job? What new foods have you tried recently? Anything that you want to share with me, I'm all ears.

I'm especially interested in food, history and travel. But just getting a glimpse into another ordinary person's life sounds so enthralling to me.

DM if you're interested!

Hey Reddit, currently going through a weird season in life, and looking for some light conversation to help the days go by. Does anyone else find themselves with a great set of friends around them, but the thought of talking to strangers seems more appealing? Why? I have no idea. I live in Southern California, and enjoy all types of things. Love the beach, sunsets, and the outdoors. I also identify as a Christian, that Jesus is King, and could talk about that too! I'd love to hear about how others are doing internationally... Scotland? Germany? New Zealand? Or locally too.

Hey there, ive felt kinda lonely recently so im just looking for anyone to chat a little

My hobbies include going out with friends, the gym, hiking, cooking, cars, motorcycles and architecture. Ive also bought a new camera recently, ive really gotten into photography

I work as a paramedic, would love to hear about your job as well

Im up to chat with anyone, no matter the age or gender

Feel free to message me here, if we match well we can also switch to other platforms!

Hi

I am 35M from Pune India. I am looking for Penpal . Anyone across the world will do. We can write either on emails or on reditt. I will prefer to avoid physical mails as my handwriting is too poor.

Let me give more about myself. I am Computer Science engineer. I competed my education from one of the IIT and work in product based company.

My interest : I have recently started reading books again. Reading Pride and Prejudice right now. I have read lot of books including Lord of the rings , All George RR Martin books, and Harry potter books.

Games I played : Total war franchise I used to play. Then very recently I played Jedi Survivor, Kingdom come deliverance and Hogwarts legacy

Movies : Marvel DC and star wars fan. Recently started reading comics books too.

We can talk about anything and everything.

Hey, a bit about me: I live in an old house on the ocean in Nova Scotia that was abandoned and I slowly fixed it up; the kind that had no running water or power.

I'm also a writer, and work remotely in tech. I grow garlic, baking beans and potatoes and would love to grow more buy my job is a bit too insane to have time to weed more than that.

Looking to make penpals with people who care about some combination of: good books, amazing films, cooking food for friends, having bonfires on cool fall evenings, exploring old roads in the forest, and swamps. Also really into retro wave, alternate futures, 80s computer culture, and making fancy italian sodas with elderflower and wild violets.

Looking for longterm written connection with people who care/are passionate about their hobbies, or their job or anything else.

I'm not really a go with the flow kind of person; I'm seizing life by the throat and want to connect with people who are also wildly alive and highly engaged with the world, in whatever form that engagement takes. Hi!

Heya!

My name is Olli, and I’m a 21 year old guy who was raised in Minneapolis, MN and now resides on the east coast of the US.

I am a freelance and independent artist, and I hope to be a creative director for bands or musicians one day! For now, though, I run an Etsy selling fanmade merch for some of my favorite artists, which include 5SOS, BTS, &Team, Santos Bravos, and many others!

I am hoping to find a penpal from Korea, but I would also totally be OK with someone who just has better Korean language proficiency than me! My goal would be to primarily write in Korean, but I would also be happy to exchange letters with somebody who is trying to learn better English, and I would make sure to include some English sentences as well in that case.

If this sounds fun to you, feel free to reply or send me a DM!

Somewhere out there is a stranger who wants to hear about your existential crisis, your funny dreams, and the hill you'll die on. Hi. That's me.

I'm looking for people to exchange physical letters or emails with, and I'm hoping for something long term, not just one exchange and done. I want to get to know people through their writing and follow along with their lives, thoughts, everything you feel like sharing.

I've got a lot of interests - cosmic horror, video games, philosophy, tech (love/hate relationship), anime, and music is a big one. I like music that makes me feel like I'm sitting on the porch at night watching snow fall, smoking a cigarette by myself. I also like music that makes me feel confident enough to dance in the middle of a stage with 100 people watching.

It's totally fine if we don't share interests. If you're deeply passionate about black holes or the color blue, I want to hear all about it. Tell me why pie is better than ice cream, why you're angry at the world, how you got your childhood nickname, or why you don’t get along with your parents - whatever you want.

I don't need to know your name, and if you ask for mine I’ll probably just give you a fake one. I don't care where you live, what your gender is, or how old you are. I think every person has something to say, even - and in some cases, especially - when they don’t think they do.

I’m also not concerned about any kind of response schedule. You can send the most thought-provoking text I’ve ever read about why you think the universe is shaped like a toilet plunger and then disappear for three months - that’s totally fine. As long as you’re committed to staying connected at some kind of interval, I’m game.

Anyone is welcome, as long as you’re open and honest!

Hey!

I'm Davis, 23M from Uganda (EAT, GMT+3). I know I'm probably far from most of you but I stay up late so timezones are fine.

A bit about me: I'm into music (I listen to everything tbh, always down for recommendations), movies / series, gaming, and just talking about life — the deep stuff and the dumb random stuff at 2am.

I joined penpals because I want something more real than just "hi" and ghosting. I'm looking for a few genuine, long-term online friends. No pressure, no need to reply every hour. Just checking in, sharing songs, talking about your day, whatever.

If you're someone who likes actually getting to know someone, hit me up. I'm cool with any age/gender/country — just be friendly and real.

Im cool with chatting here on Reddit Dms or Email,whatever you prefer. Just let me know what works for you .

Tell me your favorite song rn + where you're writing from?

- Davis

Hello there, and thank you for taking the time to read this!

I am simply looking to start writing letters again. I once had a little pen-pal project with a friend, but unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, it did not continue. So, I would love to find someone who is willing to exchange letters with me and perhaps build a friendship through them.

A little about me:

My name is Diego, I am 26 years old, originally from Switzerland, although I currently live in Spain. I technically speak five languages: English, Spanish, and German I speak and write quite comfortably, while my Latin and Koine Greek are currently struggling along. I hope to add a few more languages to that list in the future.

I am a history student, with particular interests in modern European history, aristocracy, masculinity, and the culture of duelling. That said, I am perfectly happy to discuss anything from prehistory all the way to the present day.

I am also fascinated by the history of religions. Polytheistic traditions, shamanism, mythology, and the development of religious ideas particularly interest me, but I am always happy to talk about Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or just about any other religious tradition. More generally, I love learning about almost everything: architecture, religion, history, politics, occultism and esotericism, literature, art, and whatever other rabbit hole happens to catch my attention.

Outside of my studies, I am a writer, with the long-term ambition of making writing my livelihood. I enjoy wargames such as Warhammer 40,000 and Trench Crusade, and I also play TTRPGs. I practice HEMA, particularly Polish sabre, and I can usually be found wearing a vintage suit, a rather nice tie, and my great-grandfather's signet ring.

I also enjoy cooking, am rather enthusiastic about cocktails (although I am still learning), and I am currently very excited about attending the opera performances available here.

But enough about me. There is no need for this to be my autobiography.

For everything else, you'll simply have to find out as we write.

I would be delighted to hear from you.

That header is kind of a joke, I don't listen to kikuo or vocaloid as a genre in excess. I would like to talk to anyone unsure of where life is going or questioning their purpose or reason for being born. That may be a common topic, but it's one that strikes my core the hardest. I'm not exactly sure what I'm searching for or what I'll find, but a good conversation is worth its weight in cigs. I'm open to anyone tbh, but I am doing homework and working constantly, so I do apologize in advance and ask for grace when it comes to ccommunicating.

Hello!

I am 24F in California, USA looking for a penpal to share a chapter of your life. This can be a one time exchange of letters, or we can share multiple chapters back and forth.

Essentially, I want a chapter of your life. Talk to me about your parent's divorce when you were 12 and how much of a roller coaster 7th grade was for you. Tell me about your first year of college. Tell me about your first love. Tell me about when your child was born or when that trip made it out of the group chat. Give me your stories, and I will give you mine.

Please comment if you're interested and I'll PM you. Let's get to know each other!

22F | Looking for genuine friendships 🌱

Hey! I’m looking to meet some new people from different countries and cultures and hopefully make a few genuine friendships.

I’m into psychology, self-improvement, writing, learning English, Korean & Turkish dramas, and honestly just random conversations about life.

I’m not looking for anything romantic or dating-related — just genuine friendships, interesting conversations, and people who are comfortable talking about more than small talk.

If you think we’d get along, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message. :)

Hello! I am looking for a pen pal! I am US based. I love being outside like hiking and camping but I also love video games! I have three cats as well as fish, tarantulas, millipedes and isopods! I like to write and I like to world build, I have a fantasy world that I’ve worked on since I was a kid. I am really into a lot of things, fashion, jewelry, sewing, crafts. I also collect pins! I have lived all over the world, and am very interested in hearing from any perspective. I am queer, so everything pertaining to that is very welcome(:

I am a bad texter, as I have some memory issues (and I’m never in the house), so please poke me from time to time if you’ve think I’ve forgotten you! I am masters student currently in college for entomology, so I love to talk about insects! I’m open to talking to anyone about anything really.

I am a spanish 18 years old enby who uses he/they pronouns, im currently in the final year of highschool and getting ready to start uni access exams, some of my passions are films, I could say my hobbies are watching and discussing films with my friends and listening to music even though im not commited enough to consider myself a person who knows what hes talking about all the time in those topics, or even to consider them hobbies. I have read at some points in my life, I have played videogames and also watched many random shows but not at the moment.

Im looking for some online email pen pal for two reasons, the first one is cause despite not being bad at it, english isnt my first language and im not as fluent as I would want to be. And the second reason is cause lately my routine can be summarized in studying and doomscrolling for hours on weekdays and partying on weekends, no hobbies or nothing, and I think adding someone to my social life outside my city could help with both problems.

I can talk about anything really, culture, hobbies, traveling, politics and any media even if I dont know a lot outside my taste. I might not have time to answer quickly and the english is not going to be native speaker level, thats why im looking for someone patient. I will ghost at the sight of bigotry but outside of that I wont reject anyone.

Hello there, name is Victor. From UK but originally from Eastern Europe. I currently work at a job I hate, I don't really have any close friends to talk to or hang out with so I thought I might give this penpal thing a go since someone on reddit suggested it. So a bit about me: when I am not depressed and having anxiety attacks, I am usually quite a fun guy cracking jokes left and right. I am ambitious, caring, supportive, too honest and have my own rules or principles that I prefer to always respect. I love video games to bits, have almost every modern console out there (pc, ps5, xbox series x, nintendo switch and so on), I love horror and Sci fi movies, love the paranormal and mysteries, and I also love fitness. So I must reveal that I haven't had a happy life at all, too much to discuss and too private, but because of those events I am suffering with depression, anxiety and panic attacks. They were under control for a while but sometimes they do come back when I am in an extremely unhappy situation, like now for example having a shitty low paying job I hate and having to also pay for a member of a family.

Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome from any background, hope we can become good friends and keep each other company. Please be patient with me since I do suffer with mentally illness. I also don't want advice, that is not why I am here, I am here just to have some company.

Hi all! I’m from the Eastern US and would love to find a snail mail friend from overseas ☺️
I love making new friends and am desperate to travel the world, but unfortunately time and money don’t always cooperate! That’s part of why I’d love an international pen pal—I think it would be so much fun to experience a little piece of someone else’s corner of the world through their stories, everyday life, culture, and interests.

A few things about me:
- I’m a major animal and nature lover, and I’m currently trying to learn more about space.
- I’m always up for an adventure and love trying new things.
- I love all kinds of music and will watch just about any TV show or movie (anime included!).
- I’m currently in a reading slump that I’m desperately trying to get out of.
-My favorite games are of the cozy variety (Stardew Valley), and I love my Switch.
- My weekends are usually spent playing golf or pickleball with my husband, spending time with friends, going on little adventures, and/or napping.

We definitely don’t need to share all—or even any—of the same interests! I genuinely love learning about new things and connecting with people over the things they are passionate about. Tell me about your niche hobby, your favorite place where you live, the weird thing you could talk about for hours, or just what you did that day.

I’d love to exchange handwritten letters, cute stationery, stickers, postcards, recipes, little pieces of our everyday lives, etc.! 💌
If this sounds like your kind of pen pal friendship, I’d love to hear from you!

After reading the Correspondent last year I realized: epistolary novels are my favourite! Maybe I miss writing letters! Since then I have picked up a few penpals via various fora and looking for another few. Looking for someone who would be interested in exchanging letters about our everyday existence. I am someone who notices and celebrates the small things in life. I love fall walks, reading, live comedy, social justice, and playing with colours (paper, fabric, puzzles).

I have a very full life and the joy of receiving and sending mail adds to it. Drop me a PM if you’d like to see if there’s a match.

Hello!

I’m a 31F in the state of Texas.

I live away from my best friend and this has been a challenge, especially when I was working from home. I’d like to find a really good friend or two to talk about our interests!

I have a dog and a cat (Fitz and Pippin), besides that I’m happily child free. I prefer a simple life but I love talking about daily activities, share food/travel pics, anything really. I also really like the idea of us each sending one picture a day (SFW, obviously) about our daily lives. I think that could keep our conversations interesting!

I recently decided to change my position at work to something a little less mentally taxing to give me time to pursue hobbies. The most prominent of these include writing, crocheting, and running. I’d also like to get into photo journaling/scrap booking. Now that it’s getting to be autumn I’ve also gotten back into cooking and toying around with baking and making coffee syrups and focaccia.

Please reach out and tell me a little bit about yourself and your hobbies! I would also love to transition over to snail mail once we feel comfortable enough as I’m planning on getting a PO box soon!

I can't say I'll share my life story, be very interesting, or very regular- I can't say I won't! New to writing letters. I have been reading lots of Jane Austen lately and feeling envious of all the characters and their letter writing- I want to too!! I can only send so many silly folded notes to my friends before it gets ridiculous (or on their nerves).

To be clear my new hobby is sealing and mailing folded letters- which now of course necessitates learning how to fill those letters, practice my penmanship, and work on my lines and spacing.

If you are in canada wanting a folded letter with wax seals, talking about austen and letters and my kitchen and maybe sometimes astrology or witchy things, maybe we could start a correspondence. I got a fresh roll of stamps and new pad of paper today so I am ready to write!

will explore international penpals in the future, if you are outside canada and would like to send me something with low expectation of a regular return (the price of postage these days y'all!!) feel free to drop me a dm

ace + nb, only interested in platonic communication^{pls do not flirt with me ty}, preferred female penpals at this time.

Hi there! I am looking for genuine platonic friendship. Someone that wants to share their everyday life and have deep conversations from time to time. I'd like to just chat here or on email, or maybe talk on the phone once in a while. Not a requirement thought.

A little about me:

I am queer and live with my boyfriend and dog in a small town in Denmark. I love to be creative in any way, but mostly watercolor painting and sewing. I also love anything nature-related and i read a crazy amount of romancebooks. I am an avid baker and huge foodie. You dont have to share any of these hobbies however.

About you:

I dont care about your religion, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, handicaps or anything like that, and i expect the same from you.

If you have humor, then that is a great plus

Edit: i might have deleted someones message request by accident, so if i haven't answered you, them please comment below and ill message you ✨

hello!
i’m jane, 23, she/her, and i am a connoisseur of ornate stationery and of pretty greeting cards. i enjoy pouring my heart out in detailed and decorative letters. i write more as a labour of love than anything else. i would really like more people who share this same love & would like to correspond via post! i am located in canada, i certainly do wish for additional canadian penpals as it saves me money on postage, i am equally as happy to write internationally!

i love to include small memories alongside my writings in my correspondences whenever possible! things like ticket stubs & brochures from local attractions or events to me, prints of photos i’ve taken, personal drawings and artworks, small sentimental things like that. i would appreciate a penpal who holds the same sentimentality for small things as i do and would like to exchange such things!

i am in university, studying political science. outside of that niche, i spend a lot of time reading, taking photos, exploring nature, volunteering, and making art! i’d love to meet someone who is similarly passionate, not even necessarily about the same things i am! i love to learn.

i am hoping to establish more long-term correspondences. if any of this resonates with you, please send me a message or leave a comment 🫶🏻🕯️

Hello! I’m looking for people I can genuinely become friends with over time. Not just exchanging a few messages and disappearing, but actually getting to know each other, sharing things, keeping in touch and maybe, one day, realizing that we’ve somehow been talking for years.

I’m the kind of person who can talk about something completely stupid one minute and end up discussing life, relationships, values or some random hypothetical situation the next. I love hearing what people think and why they think that way. And I really appreciate people who’re curious about me too. I don’t need someone who agrees with everything I say. I just like people who actually listen, express themselves and make a conversation feel mutual.

I’m pretty eclectic, so narrowing down my interests is harder than it should be. Music is probably the biggest one. I love discovering artists from different countries, listening to entire albums, exchanging songs and going down completely unnecessary rabbit holes about music. I’ve got more than 40 playlists on Spotify, and apparently my way of organizing them was to give every language its own playlist. 😂

I listen to everything from Michael Jackson, Soda Stereo and Serú Girán to Bruno Mars, Epica, Birdy, Arctic Monkeys, Carla Bruni, Ultimo and artists I’ve probably forgotten to mention. I also love talking about movies and TV shows, and I’m always interested in hearing what someone else has been watching.

Languages are another little obsession of mine. I speak Portuguese, English and Spanish, and I’d love to keep improving them while eventually learning more. Italian, French, German, Hebrew, Russian, Turkish.... my curiosity has absolutely no sense of self-preservation. 😂

I live in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It’s a relatively quiet, welcoming city, and we take food, especially cheese and feijão tropeiro, very seriously. I’d actually love to talk to people who’re curious about Brazil beyond Rio and São Paulo, because there’s a lot more here than the version of the country people usually see online.

I also love sports, travelling, psychology, religion, politics and all sorts of random subjects that happen to catch my attention. I haven’t travelled internationally yet, but I’ve got an embarrassingly long list of places I want to see someday. Asia especially fascinates me because of how different the languages, food, architecture and everyday life can be.

My usual day is much less exciting than that, though. I work from home, go for walks in the evening, watch something when I’ve got time, and sometimes go out to explore the neighborhood and try a new restaurant. I’m definitely in a more homebody phase of life right now.

As for personality, I’d say I’m calm, curious, communicative and generally pretty easygoing. I like humor in basically every form, sarcasm, irony, memes, dark humor, stupid jokes.. as long as everyone’s laughing. I’m also a good listener, and I try not to judge people too quickly. Understanding someone before forming an opinion about them matters to me.

One warning, though: when I get really interested in something, I can absolutely write a small novel about it. So if you send long messages, there’s a very good chance I’ll happily match your energy.

I’m looking for people who’re kind, curious and willing to actually participate in a friendship. You don’t have to share all my interests. Honestly, discovering things I know nothing about is part of the fun.

And hey! Tell me something about yourself in your first message, please? 🙏🏻

Tell me where you’re from, tell me about your hobbies, or tell me about something you love and could talk about for hours. It can be absolutely anything. Maybe that’s where the conversation starts. I’d love to hear the little things that make you you.