How to Make Lifelong Friends When Living Abroad

So you’re moving abroad and aren’t sure how to make friends? Well good for you, you’re already one step ahead of where I was when I first moved abroad! And by that, I mean you are reading these great tips and not binge watching Jane the Virgin for the first month of living abroad because you don’t even know where to start with making friends. Luckily once I started putting in some effort, it turns out making friends as an expat isn’t as hard as it seems!

After being an Au pair in Australia and an expat in Malta, here are my best tips on making friends abroad that you will actually bond with!

Join Facebook groups

As an au pair this was the #1 way I made most of my friends in Australia! There are groups that are specific to your neighborhood and are constantly posting about having meet ups, play dates with their au pair kids, picnics, a night out, and even longer trips around the country. The great thing about these groups is that you will always have loads to talk about when you first meet each other. Just be prepared to repeat what your au pair kids, host family, housing, family back home, and schedule is like multiple times in a row! Pro tip: since this is an au pair group, everyone you meet will likely be from another country, so if you are looking to make friends with the locals you will need to do a bit more venturing out.

Join a club

Clubs are a great way to meet people who have the same interests as you. You can find clubs by looking on Facebook, universities’ websites, or a quick google search will work. Getting involved in a university somehow is a great way to wiggle yourself into a full formed friend group which is like scoring the friend jackpot if you ask me!

Take a class or lesson

You can take a fun class at a local university, pottery shop, yoga studio, ect. If you like adventure, you can even get into things like surf lessons or skiing lessons depending on where you are living!

Dating apps

Yeah, I said it. Our beloved dating apps that we have now a days can seem cringe worthy especially if you aren’t looking to enter the dating scene, but they aren’t as bad as they seem. Bumble BFF is a setting on the Bumble app that allows you to meet people who are also only looking to make friendships. If you choose to use a different app I would suggest to write in your bio that you are new to the area and just looking to make friends. Pro tip: This may not need to be said, but never meet someone for the first (or even second) time in a secluded place, opt for a restaurant or cafe!

Ask questions

Maybe starting off with “Do you want to be my friend” is a bit much, but simply asking where the best surf beach is or the best coffee in town won’t hurt! Even complimenting someone on their clothes and asking where they got them is a good conversation starter. As time goes on, you will realize that there are a lot of other expats out there looking for someone to just start up a conversation with!

Join a gym

If this is your thing, I would definitely recommend it! This is how I met the majority of my friends that were locals. I made some of the best positive and genuine friendships I have ever had from joining a gym with like minded people!

The old fashioned way – go out and introduce yourself

I will admit, this is much easier if you have at least one friend already by your side or a few glassed of liquid courage under your belt, but it’s still a great way to make friends in your area. Go to a bar where you know a lot of the locals go and I am sure you will walk out of there with at least one new friend intrigued by “your cool accent’ or why you are visiting their country!

Keep in touch with your friends back home

After moving abroad and following my tips 😉 it will be easy to get caught up in your new life and all of your new friends, but don’t forget about the friends that you have back home! Keeping up with your friends back home will help you from feeling homesick. Plus it’s just nice to check up on your friends from time to time.

Thanks for reading! I hope you find these tips helpful and have a successful and fun time living abroad! If you would like any more tips or advice send me an email or check out my socials for more! Happy Travels!