How to meet new people after moving to a new city?

In the past seven years, I have only spent about one month and a half in my home country, meaning I travel and move around constantly. And while I love to be on the move, meeting new people can be incredibly hard, and what is even harder is keeping in touch with all of them.

And as exciting it might be to move somewhere new, it can be hard to make yourself get out of the house and start making new friends and meeting new people. Since I have (more or less) successfully done that multiple times so far, I decided to share some tips about meeting new people and making new friends in a new country with you. You have to understand that everybody is different and all the listed tips might not work well for you, but they can definitely make the first days in a new city much easier.

The fact that you are a foreigner can be a great conversation starter

In the past few years, I have made quite a few friends simply by talking to them about my home country. How? It is simpler than you might think. Every time I move to a new city, I go out and have a drink at the local bar or pub. If I am staying in a hostel, I usually ask the receptionist for recommendations since they know the area much better than I do.

Meeting new people in a local bar while travelling is pretty easy. All you have to do is build up the courage to say "hi. " Then, it is easy to talk about the things you like, your travels, or, why not, talk about your favourite drinks and/or food. You are in a bar, after all.

And when I get to the bar, I order a drink and try to make a conversation with the person (or people) next to me. And what I found out is the fact that people love foreigners because they can learn something new about the country that the person they are talking to is from. And talking about your home country can encourage exchanging various travel stories with other people, which usually leads to more drinks and a nice friendship. Well, the friendship might only last a few days, but the memories will stay with you forever. And since this is the era of social media, it is pretty easy to keep in touch with everyone that you meet on the road.

When travelling, stay in party hostels, and share a room rather than booking a private room

While having a private room allows you a lot of privacy and much more space, it is not the most convenient solution for meeting new people. You can still meet people in the public space of a hostel you are staying at, but it is simply much easier (and way cheaper, too! ) to share a room with more people.

There is no better (and cheaper) way to share a room than with your fellow travellers and travel lovers.

Hostels have different types of rooms - the cheapest ones are mixed twelve (or even more) bed dorms. This might seem a lot, and it actually is. It can also be incredibly overwhelming, but if you are planning to use the room just for spending the night, then this can be a great solution.

Most hostels nowadays also have separated female and male dorms. These rooms can be a little more expensive (but still cheap, comparing to private rooms), but if you feel like sharing a room with people of your gender only, this is a great solution.

And while you will most likely not get much sleep in the so - called party hostels, they are certainly a fun and cheap way to meet new people. Like the name suggests, party hostels focus on partying and loud music all night long. Some of them offer free (or at least highly discounted) pub crawls and happy hours with cheap or free drinks. If the drinks are free, expect cheap beer, but hey, it is something.

Attend a pub crawl

Like I already mentioned above, pub crawls are amazing. You will meet new people and try new drinks. And while you might not remember much of the night, I guarantee you that you will have an amazing time.

Some party hostels offer free pub crawls, and in some hostels, you will have to pay for them. But do not worry, the prices for pub crawls usually range from five to fifteen dollars, which is not too bad for a night of drinking, is it? The bars are usually pre-selected by the staff, and there will always be a staff member with you until the pub crawl ends. But you can continue drinking and/or hanging out with your new drinking friends even after the official part of the pub crawl has ended.

If you have never attended a pub crawl before, do yourself a favour and try it. You do not have to drink a lot, but if you want to keep up with all the craziness, you will have to.

Join a club, gym, dance class, a meetup group...

There are not many better places to meet people with interests, similar to yours, that in different groups and classes. And the best part? All of you will have something in common, since you like at least one similar thing, which is a great conversation starter.

While you cannot really talk much during workout classes, the time before and after the gym class is perfect for socializing with like - minded people.

If you are not sure where to start, I would highly suggest you to join here -this website has been a life saver for me. Basically, this website has a list of groups in your area, divided by interests, and they host weekly or monthly events. For example, you will find running groups, book clubs, groups for people who like dogs and so on. And it is free!

Join an expat group

Moving to a foreign country can be pretty stressful. It is helpful to know that there are other people who went through similar things as you - other expats. A website I like the most is called Internations, and on there, you can connect with other expats and attend group events.

What I really like about the Internations community, are their events. Of course the events depend on the city you live in and the number of expats there, but in my city, Internations hosts monthly events (sometimes even bi-monthly), and sometimes, they will do a specific country themed evening. For example, there is a lot of Mexican immigrants in this city, so we frequently have Mexican nights, where people from Mexico bring their traditional food and share their rich culture with us.

I love the fact that joining Internations is free. You can, if desired, pay for a premium membership for more features, but for me, a basic membership is enough. You can browse other members in your city, message them and create events. The web page will also connect you with people from the same country as you, which is pretty great.

A few words for the end...

Has it ever happened to you that you travelled to a different country and met someone you instantly clicked with, just to learn they are moving away or travelling to another destination? I went through that multiple times. And, to be honest, sometimes I try to avoid meeting new people or getting too attached to them simply because I know that I will be on the other side of the world in a few days. But I still try to socialize as much as I can.

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