I’ve been there, and although I’m still quite shy at approaching strangers I have made a few good friends, although for me it took a few months, once you get that first connection it gets A LOT easier.

So take this from someone that was in your shoes for quite a while:

First of all I should say again: once you meet that first friend, it gets A LOT easier to meet people. It also completely depends on how proactive you are, so if possible try to get over your fears and just go out there and start saying hi to people or even groups of people. Find the place where people hang out that share your interests and just go up to them and say hi, or chances are if you even stand near them one of them might notice you’ve taken an interest and start talking to you (always nice when you’re afraid of starting the conversation, but don’t count on this).

This site should help a lot:

http://succeedsocially.com/