One of the hardest things we encountered when moving to a different country was losing the community that we had built back home. If you’ve experienced this, you’ll know that building a community as an adult can be very difficult. We hope these tips can help you learn how to build a community and support system as an expat in a foreign country.

1. Start Early

When building a community, it’s important to start early. A mistake that I always used to make is that I put it off. I thought, let me really settle in first and then I can start, or, I don’t know how long I’ll actually be here, is there even a point? Building a strong community is part of the settling in process. When you meet new people and start to create strong friendships, it gives you more of a reason to explore the new place where you are. The people you meet may have information that you don’t have or info that’s hard to find online.

2. Find a Good Church

This one isn’t for everybody, but it was really important for us. We are Christian and having a good Church community was something crucial. Not just having somewhere to go a few times a week but being somewhere where we could really grow and build solid relationships with people. Finding an English-speaking church abroad isn’t always easy. We did a lot of research online. One thing that was important for us is that we found an English speaking Church because we felt that we’d be able to connect with people better in our native language. Our guideline for settling at a place was: sound doctrine, do the messages match with scripture and finally, following the Holy Spirit’s leading and peace. After seeing a few options online, we visited a couple and ended up settling at a place that was perfect for us. At this place we’ve really grown and made a lot of great friends. If you plan on going to Frankfurt, shoot us a message and we’ll let you know the name of the Church.

3. Bumble Friends

One of the ways I made new friends when I moved to Germany was through bumble. Most people think that bumble is just for dating but they have a section called ‘bumble bff’ that you can click on if you’re looking to meet new people and make friends. I found that bumble was a great way to find locals and other expats living around me. Of course, you have to be careful with meeting people online, anybody can be anybody these days. Before meeting any one in person I made sure I had talked to them for at least 2 weeks and we exchanged numbers. I made sure to message on WhatsApp just to double check their profile photos. Meeting someone you met online comes with its risks but all my interactions were positive and I would say I became friends with some of them. My 2 biggest pieces of advice about meeting with someone you met on bumble is to: 1. Meet in a public space for your first meeting and 2. Tell someone where you are going and/or share your location with them. Bumble is great for connecting you with others but make sure to also stay safe.

4. Facebook Groups

I know that Facebook isn’t what it once was but it can be useful when trying to find friends. Finding expat Facebook groups for meeting friends is usually very easy. You try search: “expats in [your city]”, “English speakers in [your city]” or “[your nationality] in [your city]” and find groups there. Once you join, you can suggest meetups or join already scheduled meetups to meet new people. Naturally, always be careful when meeting new people and take precautions.