AmUp for Expats: How to Make Friends in a New Country

Moving to a new country is one of the most energising and isolating experiences a person can have simultaneously. The excitement of a new city, a new culture, a new chapter — and the cold reality of knowing almost no one, having no established routines, and having to rebuild a social life from scratch.

The loneliness of expat life is well-documented. It's one of the leading reasons people return home earlier than planned. But it's also largely preventable with the right approach.

The Expat Social Challenge

Expats face a specific version of the adult friendship problem. Not only do you have to build new friendships in adulthood (already hard), but you have to do it in a place where you may not speak the language perfectly, don't yet know the social norms, and don't have the existing network that long-time residents take for granted.

The default approaches — expat Facebook groups, expat bars, international social clubs — work to a degree. But they tend to produce connections with other expats, which limits the experience and makes integration slower.

Why Activity-Based Connection Works for Expats

Activities are a universal language. You don't need to speak perfect Spanish to run alongside someone at 6am. You don't need to know the local social customs to play football. The activity provides a structure that bypasses the awkward first-meeting dynamics that make expat social life hard.

Activities also tend to mix locals and internationals more naturally than expat-specific social events. A running group or football kickabout on AmUp draws people who want to do the activity — not people who specifically want to meet other expats. This is how expats make local friends rather than just expat friends, which makes a profound difference to how integrated and at home you feel.

Getting Started in a New City

For an expat arriving in a new city, the fastest path to social connection through AmUp is:

1. Post an activity within the first week. Don't wait until you feel settled — the activity is how you get settled. Choose something you already do and enjoy.
2. Be specific and honest. If you're a morning runner at a 5:30/km pace who'd love to find a running partner while you're getting to know the city, say exactly that. Specificity attracts the right people.
3. Join other people's events too. Browse activities near you and request to join ones that look interesting. Being a participant is just as valuable as being an organiser for building connections.
4. Be consistent. The first event you attend may not produce lasting friendships. The fifth or tenth will. Show up regularly, and the connections will compound.

Building Your Community Over Time

Dublin, Vancouver, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona — cities with large expat populations also have large AmUp communities where both locals and internationals post and join activities. The shared interest in activity-based connection cuts across expat/local divides.

Over a few months of consistent activity, the people you've met through AmUp become your local community — the running partners who become coffee friends, the football group that goes for drinks, the hiking companions who organise a trip together. This is how expat life can be genuinely rich rather than just survivable.