Moving to a new country and starting a new life is a true challenge. The number of things you have to organize when moving is hard to count. Yet if you are here, congratulations, you made it! You are now at the next level of the Expat journey: establishing yourself in your new city and country, which for sometime at least, will be home. The integration process is both exciting and tiresome, but the timing is perfect also to update some of your routines and hobbies.
In this article we will explore a list of tips that can help you leverage on your own (maybe new) interests and boost your chances to quickly feel part of the new reality around you.
Have local friendly spots
This is one of the tips to integrate quickly as an Expat that are generally overseen, but believe me it can make your life much better in no time. Exploring your new surroundings is electrifying, no doubts. But on the other side, having safe spots can give you a sense of home that is unmatched. Nothing can beat the feeling of sitting down at the cafe or bar next door with the waiter already knowing what you want to drink. Or stopping by the butcher and chatting for a bit. Or having your favorite fruit stand at the local farmers market.
All of this helps you to have the feeling of owning the city, and with that calling it home.
Obviously you don’t have to choose between this feeling and exploring around…
Explore the surroundings
Okay this one is easy. Whether you chose your country, or it chose you, you want to take advantage of what the city and country has to offer to you. Being able to tell everyone what’s the best burger in town, the poshest neighborhood, and which way to go from A to B is something you develop by living the city. My map of favorite spots in Munich gets updated almost on a daily basis, and with that I feel more part of the city. Beyond the city walls, take the chance to have a look around the next cities and the beauties of the region you live in!
Learn the language
Fair enough, it could take a while. I still remember my three years in Prague, knowing a handful of words in Czech. When I took the tram, I always had the feeling of being an alien, unable to really grasp the soul of the city and how people were really thinking.
Learning the language is your gateway to the culture of the country. You will reveal its mysteries and you won’t feel guilty everytime a stranger talks to you in the tram (yep, that was me).
Some recreational activities and services are offered in English, and you may even have a large expat community. Though once you can speak “their” language” you will have unlocked endless opportunities, without reducing the chances to English-friendly only.
Embrace the local culture
There is much more than a new language in a new country. A new culture is there and is waiting for you to lend a hand and reach it. You will discover that certain things are less obvious than you may have thought, that reality has many angles and keeping your door open for more is enriching to a level you could hardly imagine. Dive into it! Learn about the history of the place, join a cooking course, go to museums, join local festivals…learn to love their culture and integrate quickly as an expat!
Hang out with the locals
First of all, no matter where you are, locals are easy to find! They are generally less open to finding new friends than expats are, but on the other side, there’s plenty of them! Making friends with the locals means that you will have a great time knowing what’s natural, obvious and surprising about their culture. Moreover you will have the chance to showcase yours as well.
Joining a sports club is a great way to meet new people. For instance if you are into running, there are plenty of options (for free) that you can check on Strava, Adidas Running, Nike Run Club, or really any other running app. Other sports have their own apps (for tennis check WorldClubTennis), while the app Sportpartner is a one-fit-all solution with plenty of sports to choose from and find your new sport teammates!
Ultimately you know yourself better; you know your passions, and what you are curious about. If you manage to link these to meeting locals, well you’re all set!
Local news
Are you wondering what’s going on in the city center, why the traffic is diverted in one of the main roads, and what’s coming up in the next week or month? Then you have great chances to have the doubts answered by keeping yourself informed and up to date with the city. You can either follow institutional pages (like the official city pages, or established newspapers) or go light and follow pages sharing the latest with an expat audience. You may also find tons of news and pages in English as well. It really doesn’t matter how you do it - I only recently started to actually look out for upcoming events/exhibitions on billboards and add them to my agenda. A good thing about this is that it doesn’t take long and by knowing the latest, you will easily look more like a local to any outsider - fake it until you make it, I hear ;)
Give yourself time
Rome wasn’t built in a day. You don’t know how long it’s going to take you to make friends and feel at home. Try different strategies to leave no stones unturned, push yourself into the task. Ultimately you might be good at it, lucky or it can also take a while. If that is the case, don’t give up just yet. Good things might be slow to come, but are worth it. In my experience, the times I failed to feel at home when I moved to a new place, was when I knew I was close enough to another familiar place. Knowing you can always go back for the weekend, that your friends are there claiming your attention, won’t help you to build another home. Take your time to get used to new routines and build new connections and as long as your commitment goes you won’t regret a step of the way.
Remember: Expat quick integration
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