Meeting people and making friends in Caracas?

Hi JayArgonaut,

Welcome on Expat-blog!

How long are you in Caracas? How is life there?

I hope you get lots of suggestions on places to visit and that you make loads of new contacts on the site.

All the best,
Christine

Hey there Christine!

Thanks for the warm welcome. I was planning on staying here for several months but I'll see how things go. Life in Caracas is a massive contrast to the one I had in the UK, where I was born and have lived my whole life.

Safety wise, I have seen first hand that a lot of the hysteria about violence in Caracas is (from my experience) blown out of proportion. The worst I've seen so far is a minor street scuffle. There's no blood thirsty death squads or gangs prowling the streets with AK47s looking for victims.

Nor have I been pick-pocketed or accosted, though I do have the "advantage" of being black so I blend right in. Apparently I'm indistinguishable from local Venezuelans.

A point of concern for any new-comers however is the traffic system. You really do take your life in your hands crossing the road. Drivers and in particular motorcyclists routinely go right through red lights, so you have to stay alert.

From what I've seen so far, if you're not a fluent Spanish speaker then people often react very strangely towards you. This can range from long, intense stares to outright amusement at the idea of people existing who don't speak the Spanish language.

However, on the other side of the coin, there are people in Caracas who are warm to foreigners and don't gawp at you like you're on show in a Zoo. They will do their best to reach a middle-ground of communication and they put a smile on your face.

Hi JayArgonaut,

Welcome to my (yes, mine) Venezuela!

What are you doing around here?
Have you made any friends?
What would you like to do in Venezuela?
Have you visited Vargas? Miranda? Any other State?
Once again Welcome to my ill city!

Hola!

Thanks for the welcome... I'm here to see Venezuela with my own eyes and learn as much about the country as possible. Yes, I have made a few friends here but no, I have not yet visited the other states.

Gracias

Jay

Epa Chamo!

I'm glad you've made some friends!
You should visit other states and cities! La Guaira, Los Teques, La Colonia Tovar  is not far from Caracas; I live in Caracas but I spend most of my time in La Guaira. If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know!

Take Care, Have fun

Hi Jay,
I am in Caracas for one week and i can suggest you Juan Sebastian Bar. The people are so friendly over there and you can really feel Latin rhythm. I will move to Vargas soon and i was wondering if anybody knows any place to eat and drink over there?
Regards...
Serdar

Hey!!! I am venezuelan living in south africa, but  I am currently on my way to Caracas!! well as you notice is very different from UK its actually a lot...
You need to be carefully is a dangerous place (not joking)... and be cautious about where do you hang out, we used to be very friendly but as you saw is a lot of aggressiveness in the street because I guess all the political and crime issues that we are having... Hope you can be safe and have a nice and for sure interesting experience... Right now I am in Sao Paulo will be arriving today to ccs.

Hey there,
Are you still in town?
I've plenty of suggestions if you still do.

susie

hey there susienyc,
maybe i could need some help?

SERDARGUDUK,
ill be happy to help let me know what kind of interests, you might have and i'll gladly come up with some ideas
regards susie

Hi Susie,
I would be glad if you could tell where can i find a nice mexican restaurant in caracas. I searched from internet but i couldn't be sure about any of them. Also, i found some cool venezuelan bars and jazz clubs but i couldn't see any irish pub in the city, do you know any? Thanks for your help
My Best Regards
Serdar

Hey, glad to find some people posting! My husband and I are moving to Caracas in June and I'm looking for expats to talk to about their lives there!

My husband is Swedish and I'm Swedish/Venezuelan, born and raised in Sweden but been visiting Venezuela my whole life and lived there twice as a kid.

What's your take on living in Caracas? How do you adjust to the safety issues there?

I am  a venezuelan guy living in caracas, i would like make friend to improve my english in exchanged my spanish, i like sports, avila mountain and beach. I am a student of Brith Council in Chacaito and i could help people to make friend.

MIGUEL555 wrote:

I am  a venezuelan guy living in caracas, i would like make friend to improve my english in exchanged my spanish, i like sports, avila mountain and beach. I am a student of Brith Council in Chacaito and i could help people to make friend.

Hey Miguel! how do you do? am planning to come to Venezuela to do a Medical Licensing Examination but i know no Spanish hehe...looking for someone who speaks English that can guide me through for two days