>>Never had a chance to live there but try... drinking and maybe it'll help
Bad idea. If you make a habit of reaching for the bottle in order to get the courage to socialize, you might one day find yourself needing the bottle.
Then, you run the risk of ending up like me. I used to find that the only way I could stand parties was if I was totally wasted. Soon, though, I found out that I still didn't enjoy conversation, even when I was drunk. So I'd start each new party by grabbing several beers or a bottle of liquor and slinking off to a corner to drink by myself. Then, I asked myself, "if this is what I'm doing, why the fuck do I still go to parties?"
Now I just skip the partying and get drunk at home, all by my lonesome. Instead of turning me into the life of the party, drink turned me into a lonely alcoholic.
tl;dr, don't rely on alcohol to solve your problems. Find your own way to be social, or you might regret it.