Relocating can often be quite scary, particularly if you have so far lived in the same country for the whole of your life. With this being the case, you may be a little worried about how you are going to meet new people – as everyone who you knew before will be staying in your home country. Luckily, there are a number of ways that you can meet new people when you move to another country, and this article will take you through some of the best ways.
Find a support group
No matter which country you are going to, you are sure to be able to find a support group that is specifically aimed at people who have moved to the country recently. Although you shouldn’t try to base all of your friendships here, as you will want to integrate properly into the country, it can be a really good place to start. This is because the people in these groups will be going through, or will have gone through, exactly what you are currently going through. No matter how positive the overall decision to move abroad may be, there is a chance that you will go through some difficult times, too, and the people who you meet at these support groups will be in the best possible position to help you.
Try to be social at work
When you’re the new person in any working environment, it can often be tempting to leave as soon as possible at the end of the day – however this isn’t the best way to go about meeting new people and becoming friends. You should try to socialise with your work colleagues if you can, whether that is having lunch with them, or asking them whether you can tag along to a social event that you’ve heard them planning in the office. The great thing about this is that you already know that you have your job in common, which will immediately give you something that you are able to talk about.
Learn a new skill
If you want to meet new people, then a night class could be a good place to start. No matter whether you are interested in learning how to ski or how to cook, night classes will bring like-minded people together, therefore giving you plenty of people who you are able to talk to. Not only this, but it can be a really good idea to give yourself something to think about when you first move to a new place, as it can help you to settle in much more, and learning a new skill could be key for this.
Find a parents’ group
If you have children, then this is a great way to bond with other parents. If there is no local group for children such as a playgroup, then regularly taking them to local playgrounds could be just as good – as you will get to know the people who also go at the same time as you. This can give you a really good chance to meet people with children of the same age, which has another bonus of finding friends for your children, too, therefore helping them to settle in.
Look for groups online
No matter where you are moving to, you should find that they have some kind of group on social media that you can join. Not only would this give you the chance to say hello and ask whether there was anybody local who might like to meet up, but it also means that you would be kept up to date with activities and community events that you could get involved in – and these are great places to meet new people.
When you move to another country, it is important that you make new friends as soon as possible, as it can provide you with an excellent support network whenever you need help and advice. When you have moved so far away from all of your other friends and family this becomes even more important, so therefore you should definitely think about using some of the tips above to make finding new friends a priority.
