Meeting people in Zurich
Moving to a foreign country can be daunting, as it implies a lot of changes in ones personal and professional life. First of all, you need to adapt to the climate and local culture, speak and listen to a new language. But one of the most time-consuming, and sometimes frustrating parts could be to rebuild your network of friends. Although finding new friends and contacts in a new environment can be tough, the result of it is always satisfying. Not only can a well developed social network help you integrate quicker into the local life, it may also help you advance in your professional life if opportunities arise. Here, we have some suggestions as to how and where to develop your social network in Zurich.
Join an expat group
Yes, we just mentioned integration into the local life right above. You may wonder why we are advising you to join an expat group. In fact, not only will the https://www.expat.community be a part of your own 'local life' in Zurich, but it will sometimes also open doors to meeting locals. For newly arrived foreigners, especially those who do not yet speak the local language, it is often immensely useful to get tips and resources from the https://www.expat.community, whose members have all gone through the same process, and are keen to help others out. Those who help you out in the early days of your expat life here may remain as life-long friends! Do a simple research on Google, Facebook or Meetup, and you will find many of these groups, sometimes based on nationality, the field of profession and interests. A lot of these expats who have been living in the city for decades could also possibly introduce you to friendly locals who enjoy mingling in an international environment.
Join a local sport club
In fact, not only sports clubs, any kind of activities or classes that you take with the locals could work. However, we mention sports club specifically, as they are a popular way to meet and build strong ties with people outside of work. Moreover, who doesn't like to get healthy outside of work hours? In Switzerland, most sports clubs run under an annual membership subscription system. You join as a member for the 'year', usually defined by the school year of your canton, and you can participate in regular classes, social activities and special tournaments or events. Since these sports clubs are well-loved by locals of all age groups, you will meet all sorts of people of all ages with many different experiences. This is particularly interesting if you wish to integrate into the local communities, and perhaps also to practise your Swiss German.
Get a Tandem language exchange partner
To live the local life in Zurich, it is important that you speak Swiss German. For many, this is a real challenge. But you can turn a challenge into an opportunity. Share your language skills - whether it is your native language or any other languages that you speak fluently, with a local. As you do a language exchange, you not only commit yourself to improve your Swiss German level, you are also learning and sharing cultures. If you find that having just one language exchange partner is boring, there are many language exchange or practice groups in the city that you could join. Search online and go to one of their events. Often, it is an excellent way to meet locals, especially open-minded ones who would like to learn more about your culture.
