6 Tips To Help You Make Friends When You Move To Spain

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Read about 6 ways to help make friends and connections when you move to Spain to establish a new and exciting social life.

The friends you make when you move to Spain are going to be unlike any you have made before in your life. This is because it will be during a time when you are open to making friends and meeting people you might never have met otherwise. In addition, you’ll likely find yourself aligning with the types of people who share similar values and interests to yours. So, you’ll not only make strong bonds with what you have to talk about, but with the way you support each other through similar challenges. Despite all the benefits of making new friends, it might not happen straight away without any effort from you.

To help you make connections and friends in your new country, here are 6 handy tips:

1.  Don’t Expect Friends Right Away

Just think about how long it took to establish friends at home. Maybe you had many years at work or school together, but you didn’t just automatically have friends. Give it time, if you put yourself in the right situations and you’re friendly, opportunities to make friends will come.

2.  Make The First Move

It may not come naturally to you to make the first move when it comes to making friends, but in this situation, you may have to. Don’t be afraid to try your Spanish out, or to try and connect with English, the other person will appreciate the effort and who knows, it could lead to friendship.

3.  Connect Online

Online meetup apps aren’t just for dating! There will be local groups and forms, social media hangouts and more to utilise in your area. Making that first connection online is a really handy first step, even if you just get to talking over a photo post. Nearly 70% of Spanish people use the internet at least once daily, that’s a lot of potential friends right?

4.  Say Yes When You Usually Wouldn’t

There may be many situations that arise that you would usually automatically shut down. Party invites where you don’t know anyone, invitations to try an activity or social group. Say yes to one thing you would normally turn down. At the least you get a funny story and a lesson in something, at the most you make new friends and have a great time.

5.  Use Your Niche

Whether you are into veganism, surfing, food, languages, business or knitting, there will be like-minded people nearby. Utilise your niche to connect with others in hobby groups, meetups or simply by going and doing what you love and chatting to others whilst you’re there. For example: there are 300,000 surfers in Spain. If you surf, there’s an automatic conversation starter and hot bed of potential friends to connect with on any given day the waves are good.

6.  Enjoy Yourself

Remember that every interaction with another person has something to offer, even if it is fleeting or even negative. Enjoy every interaction, however shallow or meaningful it is, and however long it lasts. Living without expectations on those you connect with, will help you make the most of your time in your new home.

Making friends in Spain is going to happen for you eventually, but you can help that process along with the above tips. Before you know it, you’ll have plenty of new connections to enjoy as part of this brand new chapter of your life. As with any relocation, international removal companies such as Pack and Go will make life easier.