Yes, it is!
I don’t want to lie to you by saying that everything will be easy and you will find your comrades on the same day that you land in a new place. I’m sure the world is full of cool people who are willing to help and be there when needed. But not all of them are right for you, and you’re not right for all of them.
Therefore, before you find your people and been accepted and understood by them, you will have to experience a huge number of different feelings: loneliness, despair, misunderstanding of other culture and even lack of self-understanding.
And that’s totally okay! For example, I am generally an introvert, but all my previous work was related to people, so I know how to be open, active, where to look for new acquaintances and create long-term friendships. But even for me, the experience of building relationship in the UK has been and still continues to be stressful and very difficult. It’s really harder for locals to let foreigners into their personal emotional space (I’ll tell about it more detailed another time), so sometimes it can feel like you’re alone, even when you already have a formed community of people around you.
But nothing is impossible. Here are my 5 tips on how to make friends with someone:
1Don’t be afraid to communicate with people everywhere. In the park, shop, queue, museum, restaurant, beach, bus, go to the university campus, etc. I know it can be hard, but do it even through embarrassment and awkwardness, be open to the world.
2.Don’t stay at home! Go outside every day, in the evening or even at night, every time you feel lonely (but never forget about your safety).
3.Attend free events: concerts, exhibitions, lessons, courses, lectures, meetings, walking tours
4.Download apps to share knowledge. Show people your interest and goodwill. Get sincere pleasure from learning something new, be interested in different things. 5.Join volunteer activities.
Enjoy and remember that it’s just a big game named life and you can make it as fun as you wish. Keep trying and you’ll find your besties for sure!
refugeenotes 
Can definitely say it’s hard making friends in an environment that’s different than one you’ve in your entire life. It can be hard at times but never stay inside your comfort zone in one place. Communicate as much as you can & you won’t feel scared anymore. I’d love to connect w you, have a good one !
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Yes, you’re totally right!
Thank you 🤗
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I have lived on three different continents and your advice is excellent. In volunteering, I found like minded friends but took every opportunity to meet people of different cultures.
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Do you still communicate with friends from another continents?
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Hello Sofia. ❣️
Greeting’s
Yes , I agree with you.
For the last ten years I have been experiencing living with people who were completely new and different to me.
Living with such people and befriending them is very difficult and even painful۔
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Yes it can be different experience in a new country depending on the person. I agree that for some people it’s harder to meet new friends than to another. But I hope you feel good now and found great community for yourself ☺️
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Yeah i have some friends. Hey Sofia be my friend. 🥺🥺🙊🙊 Plzzzz 😻👩❤️👩🌷
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Sure! Friendship and my time is all I can offer people now 🤗
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Thank u so much my friend 💐💐💐for u❣️
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🤗🤗
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Plzz visit my site
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Yes, I’m still in touch with my childhood friends
They are far away from me but very close to my heart
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That’s great 🤗
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I certainly do but have lost touch with a Ukrainian friend who I met in Cairo when we lived there. She is on my mind now but she moved to New Zealand. Two of my schoolfriends from Scotland follow my blog even though I have lived in Texas for almost 2 decades.
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Friendship knows no border and distance 🤗
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It can be difficult just moving to a new town.
I am SO lucky.
I have made brilliant friends since moving here.
Sometimes you have to be a little pushy!
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Where do you live now?
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I have somewhat the same experience. No known face. Language alien. Culture, generally the same, Indian culture, particularly it is not. Feeling like a Lillipt in Gulliver’s travel.
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Yeah it’s much more harder to make friends when you don’t know the language of the country! 🙈
I had that experience in China.
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Very helpful post. So glad you can use and share these different ways. Thank you🙂
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🤗
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So happy that you are sharing your voice through your blog, Sofia! Your words are so important for the world to read and understand, especially now. I truly hope that you will find a way to use your teaching skills in Northern Ireland. Connecting with people in your new town every day is a wonderful way to make new friends and discover new opportunities!
I look forward to reading your blog and sharing your story with my friends in America. My thoughts are with your family and friends at home.🙏🏼💙💛
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Thank you 🤗
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As someone who has lived in a foreign country for over 5 years I completely agree with your tips particularly #2 is the most critical. There is a tendency to want to stay in our comfort zone and not venture out but that is the biggest mistake, don’t stay home!
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Yes, you’re right! Sometimes I don’t want to go out because I don’t know what to do there. But when I’m in a park or just walking around the city I realize that I made a right decision.
Did you find good friends in a foreign country?
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Yes I did fortunately I am at school so there are some students from Africa plus my office colleagues are good guys as well
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That’s good ☺️
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Sure it’s hard. I’ve lived in Aussie for more than 40 years but in the early days fresh out of South Africa, I had to suck up being mocked for my accent, told I was a Japie – a derogatory Afrikaans word for a yokel/hick/bumpkin – and laughed at for expressions that mean one thing there and another here. It’s one of the reasons why migrant communities tend to cluster in particular areas, seek out each online etc. While I could have lobbed myself straight into a South African community in Sydney and hidden there, I decided that to find my place here I had to make friends with locals. The work environment provided several opportunities, but activities is the obvious other. I’ve made many friends through swimming and scuba, my writers group and others. You’ve nailed all the things one needs to do to find your place.
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Thank you for sharing your story. It is very important to know that many have had similar experiences and that in the end no one was left alone 🤗
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Great pointers! Thank you for sharing 😊
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Thank you 🔅
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I was thinking about moving to a new country. This insight is really helpful!
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Thank you 🤗
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Lol. Grammatical mistakes…😅😅
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I’m so glad that you have found ways to connect with new people!
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Thank you 🤗
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All good points Sofia
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Thank you 🔅
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I relate so well. It’s not easy to make friends in a new country but it’s possible. People are actually nicer than you can imagine
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That’s sooo true! 👍
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Hello Sofia, you probably don´t remember me, I´m Charly Priest fromj the blog Crazy Life, now with a different account obviously (long story) , anyways now reconnecting with quite some few of all you fellow bloggers, and great to read as much as I can from you people.
It is hard to make friends in another country, hard to have real friends werever anybody comes from, so another country…..I just stayed being me, function most of the times, being me and always gave the people the chance not thinking badly about them, that reality can change when I saw different actions from different people but as a general rule, just give people a chance.
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Yes, I agree! I’m lucky enough to have some real friends, but I don’t think finding them is easy. But I am definitely sure that always and everywhere you need to be yourself. I would add this point as the sixth to my tips. Thank you! 🤗
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Thank you for responding to my comment.
Have a great day.
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☺️
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Thank you for the advice! I feel that. It is hard to meet new people and a bit intimidating at first. I haven’t ever moved out of the country, but I can imagine it’d be both exciting and a bit scary.
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Yes! That exactly me, exciting and scary the same time 😅🙈 But anyway it’s a great experience 👍
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This is excellent advise, thank you. It all starts with yourself… reach out… and the rest will follow. Hope you find forever-friends in the new country too.
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Thank you 🔅
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such a complicated thing is friendship … even under ‘ideal’ conditions, let alone challenging conditions … i liked this post.
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Thank you 🤗
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Hi, Sofia. I can be your online friend. ☺
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Opnieuw vrienden maken op een andere plek is niet gemakkelijk maar tegen iedereen praten en contact maken helpt een beetje. Bedankt dat je natuurfreak3 hebt bezocht.Ik heb nu een nieuw blog “natuurmens”
Altijd welkom op
https://natuurmens.wordpress.com
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Yes you are absolutely right, it is very difficult especially when you are all alone and you do not even know the language there This has happened to me but thank God I have got very good friends. God bless them always
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Yes, it’s true. But lucky we find good friends all around the world 🤗
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My experience was also very good, even today there are distances of borders, but even today the friendship is closer and deeper in my heart. God bless my friends always
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🤗
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I think making friends is easy but hard if you are not willing to… if you are people avoidant it’s gonna be difficult
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Yes, it’s always depend on a person.
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