We all reach a point in our lives when we have to pause and consider what we have left behind. In the process of securing a brighter future and progressing with the rest of the world, we frequently unwittingly leave behind the individuals we care about most. Understandably, it is inevitable that one thinks of and works hard for a better life with a stable job and a family. Still, somewhere, in some corner of our minds, we miss the long-lost friends that once were a significant part of our days.

There are those people with whom we spent numerous joyful moments and made a lot of souvenirs in school, college, workplace, or even the neighborhood. While some provided a shoulder to cry on during our bad days, others were merely the reason our days were brighter and happier. However, somewhere along the way, something comes that forces us to go our different paths. Perhaps relocation to a new city or change of school led to that?

According to The Atlantic, the consensual nature of friendship makes it more susceptible to the vagaries of life than other relationships.

Whatever the reason might have been, it is never too late to reunite and rejoice with your old buddies. All you need to do is get in contact with your long-lost friend and then revive the joyous moments once again. Not sure where to start? Do not worry, because in this piece of writing, we will provide a systematic approach you can follow to look for your long-lost pals.

Suggestions on how to track down long-lost friends

There was a period when locating people was a real pain. As depicted in classic movies, people had to travel great distances in pursuit of a loved one. Fortunately, owing to technological advancements, the globe has become a virtual village, and one may locate someone without even getting out of bed, let alone traveling hundreds of miles.

Just follow these steps:

1. Make use of the information currently at hand

Before rushing over to your laptop and frustrating yourself with the enormous volume of information the internet throws at you (that you need to filter through), start with the traditional way. Why choose the difficult path when the simpler one might give you the desired result?

There is a tremendous chance that your friend is still using their old number or email address. Check if that's the case on PhoneHistory. Like you, maybe your friend is also working hard to find you and might have left this option open for you. They might have retained their old number just in case an old pal wants to meet up. So never underestimate the information you already possess. Try to remember what means of contact you used before and see if those still work.

2. Enquire from mutual friends

If the formula mentioned above does not work, try asking other members of your childhood gang about your best friend's whereabouts. There is a very high chance that not everyone has lost contact with your old buddy. Someone from within your friends' group might reunite you with your long-lost friend. Therefore, explore the possibilities to their fullest. You never know which strategy might give you a hint.

3. Search the social media networks

If the traditional ways are not helping, then resort to technology. It does provide a massive advantage after all. According to the University of the People, around 3 billion individuals utilize social media on a global scale. This is almost 40% of the planet's total population. Your friend is part of your generation, and if you are using social media, there is a possibility that your friend is also using it.

To look for your long-lost friend, try out social media networks such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Backlinko reveals that an individual often has up to 9 social media accounts. Hence there is almost a 100% chance of finding your friend on one of the sites.

4. Utilize people searching sites

It is usually very rare for people to not be on any social media platform in today's era. Nevertheless, if your friend is not social at all and has never used a social networking site, or has an account under a made-up name, then you may resort to people searching sites. Use Nuwber for this purpose. If you know the possible whereabouts of your buddy - start with an address search. You may also run their former address through the search to see if the owner is someone who may be also connected with your friend. Then, look for their name and see where it leads you to. The results will display your friend's most recent contact details.

Well, you know what to do afterwards.

5. Google knows it all

We're getting closer to the worst-case situations. It's extremely improbable that none of the social media platforms or people-finding websites have any information regarding your friend's whereabouts. Let us pretend, though, that they don't. What would you do next?

You have undoubtedly seen a lot of memes that say Google knows everything. We believe it knows a little more about you than you do yourself, but that is a topic for another day. The bottom line is that this search engine is incredibly knowledgeable. If you just put your friend's name in quotation marks in the search bar and click enter, Google will create a list of everything linked to that name on the internet.

Then it is your job to find out whether any of the results relate to your friend and get a clue on where they are.

6. Browse through public records

Lastly, if your friend is so enigmatic that even Google can not find them ( that is a huge achievement, by the way), then you can turn to browsing through public records. Judiciary and governmental organizations of all levels are regularly publishing public documents on their websites.

Just visit the relevant authority's website and search through their records. As an alternative, you might also visit any regional office of the government authority and request the records. However, please note that some jurisdictions restrict access to certain documents such as tax returns, school records, library records, etc. You can try to compile these yourself, but it can be a painstaking process. Thankfully, a public records search can do this instantly, and there are several services (such as Information.com) that can perform a public records lookup to access all this information at one time for you.

Conclusion

Overall, contacting a long-lost acquaintance may appear to be a lot of work, but it is well worth it in the end. After all, reliving those treasured memories would be a fantastic experience, and a little extra effort isn't really a problem. And if you follow the tips above, the odds of you not finding your best friend are quite minimal.