By Guest Contributor: Hailley Griffis
As university students, we are at a point in life where we have a tendency to city-hop and travel a lot. Whether it is moving to a new city to attend university, switching universities or even spending a year abroad, we’re just all over the place.
If you’ve just changed cities, and are now away from the comfort (or discomfort?) of knowing most everyone in your town personally, you might be finding it difficult to meet new people. When you’ve had the same friends for all of high school, some of us forget the “How to make friends” lesson we were taught as kids.
New cities present many new opportunities for meeting people. There is actually only one thing that you have to do if you don’t know people in your new city, but would like to. It’s simple:
Join a like-minded community
This is it, the secret sauce! The thing that will get you networking away and making tons of friends, fast. This is so simple, that we sometimes overlook it.
The best example I can give of how joining a like-minded community can help you out, is an organization I’ve worked with called Girl Gone International (GGI). GGI is self-described as a “vibrant international community of female globe hoppers 21-45 living, working, traveling or studying abroad or returning after time spent abroad.” There are now hubs springing up all over the world, and ever since March 2013, they are publishing a glossy quarterly magazine.
I started a Girl Gone International (GGI) chapter in Ottawa. We do all sorts of social activities, from after-work drinks, to touring Parliament or the Bridgehead Roastery. At these events, we often meet women who have been in Canada for some time, yet haven’t made friends, because their culture was too different from what a typical Canadian is used to. Girl Gone International allows them to connect with like-minded women and create friendships and relationships that they may not have fostered otherwise (it’s also a girls-only occasion, which is tons of fun!)
For any people looking to join Girl Gone International, it’s excellent for expats, but also great for anyone that loves languages, culture and has traveled a little bit. We often end up swapping stories about our travels. Everything from the worst airports in the world (Frankfurt – you are up there in my books), to the funniest travel moment you’ve had (like being totally lost when it comes to the money, so only leaving the house with one type of coin to avoid confusion).
Now for any of you ladies that might currently be studying or doing an internship abroad, GGI is the perfect way to meet a bunch of fun girls in your new city. Though it is a little bit easier if you are studying abroad, it might be difficult if you are doing an internship because you can’t benefit from meeting people on campus.
The great thing about GGI, is that it is not purely expat women. There are a lot of expat women, but there are former expats (like myself!) who join in as well. These local GGIs can help you find all of the best places around town, including answering questions about doctors or visas. At one of our recent meetups in Ottawa, we had two British ladies exchange Visa stories and help each other out because they were going through the same process.
When you look at it, it seems so simple. If you have just moved to Ottawa, or any other city with a GGI chapter, why wouldn’t you join to meet all of these international women and simultaneously get to know the new city?
The best way to make sure you aren’t overlooking your own opportunities to meet new people is by opening yourself up to these communities and getting involved. There are many ways to do so. Meetup.com is a wonderful platform for this (check out Girl Gone International Ottawa while you’re on there). Meetup helps people with shared interests plan meetings and form offline relationships. Their online platform allows anyone to create a group and schedule meetups. University clubs and associations that enable you to attend events and mingle are excellent as well!
The most important thing to remember, is that you will have to be active to meet people. You cannot sit around your house waiting for your new best friend to drop by at any moment. Take the initiative to go out there and meet people, join a community, and you are guaranteed to find some incredible people in your new city.
PS: Next time you hit up a new city find out if there is a Girl Gone International near you, so you can join a network of lovely international women all over the world.
Photo Credits: Hailley Griffis