Meeting new friends in an unfamiliar country

Making friends is one of the most important tasks after arriving in a new country.

One of the advantages of moving overseas to take on a new, exciting job is that your work colleagues can be instant friends, thus alleviating the feeling of aloneness which affects many expats’ early days on a new assignment. Once you’ve sorted out which new acquaintances are likely to become good mates, you’ll need to think about how to find friends outside your workplace – a slightly more difficult task. Luckily for new arrivals, the recent expansion of the expatriate world has seen clubs, classes, online groups and interest-based meets starting up wherever there are expat communities.

These days, expats are good at starting up social events, with the expat club no longer the only option in the majority of destinations. Combining learning more about how to adjust to life in your new country with making new friends is easy once you’ve identified your interests. Joining a language class at a beginners’ level is a good way to get over shyness with strangers and can also be an entry into your local ethnic community if you’re lucky. If you’ve not yet discovered the Meetups website, it might be your answer to enjoying favourite pastimes with a whole new group of potential buddies. From regular restaurant get-togethers to sports evenings, outdoor activities, book clubs, coffee and conversation and much more, the real beauty of this idea is that you can start your own Meetup on any topic or activity you please. If you’re going down the language class path, looking for a group language practice meeting between locals wishing to learn English and expats struggling with the local lingo is a great idea as it introduces members to their opposite numbers’ culture as well as giving confidence in coping in a foreign language.

Workshops for activities as diverse as yoga, pilates, writing, meditating, wellness, drawing, cooking, healthy living, gardening, using herbal treatments and making music are also great for meeting new friends with new ideas. Volunteering is the best way to get together with like-minded souls, whether it’s for orphanages, animal shelters or dog rescue groups, homeless shelters, teaching new skills to locals, groups advocating green living, environmental activities and much more. Non-profit organisations are literally everywhere and always welcome new arrivals and their skills. Check first whether your work permit or visa allows volunteering as a few Asian countries including Thailand don’t permit it. The internet is your key to finding what’s best for you in your new locale as regards making new friends.