Making friendly acquaintances

First, you need time to adjust to your new environment, your new apartment, your new job... And when you arrive in Paris, just getting used to the metro can be quite a challenge, let alone making friends! Here are some tips, our best ideas to help you ;)

The wrong reflex would be to think that we'll never make it and to shut ourselves in. So, yes, it's more reassuring to binge-watch the entire last season of Ozark or chat on social media with friends back home than to take on the challenge of making friends. And while it's always nice to be alone from time to time, if isolation becomes a recurring pattern, it can lead to sadness. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of remote work, loneliness can now be more prevalent and have consequences on the health of isolated individuals. The Astree association and IFOP initially published a study in January 2022 on French people and loneliness, highlighting the following figures: 73% of French people who consider themselves lonely declare being unhappy due to loneliness. 61% of people feeling lonely have had suicidal thoughts before. It is therefore important not to let ourselves be trapped in loneliness and even to dare to admit that we feel alone... so that we are no longer alone!

Making friends is not like completing a work assignment. It takes time, energy, and friendships aren't built overnight. Moving to a new city is already stressful enough without adding the pressure of making friends quickly. Give yourself time! When starting a new job or moving to a new city, adjusting to these new environments already consumes a lot of energy. Don't be too hard on yourself, and allow yourself some breathing room if you haven't found your new best friend within the first 15 days after moving.

Latest news, if you're arriving in a new city to start a new job, chances are you'll be surrounded by neighbors or colleagues at some point. Neighbors: go knock on doors, invite them over for a drink, leave a welcoming note in mailboxes. The likelihood of another newcomer arriving at the same time as you is quite high in a city like Paris where the real estate market is always active. Neighborhood parties are a ritual in many cities, so don't hesitate to find out what's happening in your building. Your colleagues: they're usually well aware of your arrival, so introduce yourself, suggest grabbing a drink to get to know each other after work.

According to a survey by Editions Tissot titled "French People and Friendship at Work," 93% of French people believe that the workplace is a space where friendships are formed. Friends of your neighbors, your colleagues, your friends: you know what they say, "the friends of my friends are my friends." New encounters often happen through people we already know, who then expand their circle of friends.

The advantage of arriving in a new city is that everything is to be discovered. Have you always dreamed of taking up pottery, dancing, boxing, or hiking? Taking group classes is a great way to meet people! Also, keep an eye on social networks, where communities of sports/hobby enthusiasts gather through Facebook groups, Discord networks, or Instagram pages. For example, the "Randonnées île de France" (Hiking in the Île-de-France region) Facebook group has 53,000 members. The group's guidelines are very simple: "This group is dedicated to organizing hikes in the Île-de-France region. Anyone can propose routes, just specify the approximate number of kilometers, the meeting point, the location of the hike, and the meeting time (preferably a train station)." It's open to everyone, and the model is repeated for many activities. Dating sites are also a good way to make new friends (or more if there's a connection). At La Casa, we bring together roommates who all want to experience communal living. Settled in beautiful houses designed for communal living, everything is designed for them to discover a harmonious and turnkey group life. In the four years that La Casa has existed, many InterCasas clubs have formed to bring together roommates with common interests. This allows them to meet up to practice climbing, cycling, go to museums, hike, run, undertake initiatives to help the environmental cause... And all this helps them to meet and make friends between different houses! Better than a dating site or any social network, they can make friends very easily.

As mentioned earlier, the emergence of InterCasas clubs, and La Casa's partnership with Gymlib, has given rise to new rituals among roommates from different Casas. For example, the climbing club at La Casa, created at the initiative of roommates, currently has 83 members from all the Casas, allowing roommates to gather and climb together. At La Casa, we rethink the landlord-tenant relationship to create a relationship of trust and communication between roommates and staff. In early May 2022, at the initiative of three roommates from the community, the staff coordinated the organization of a film screening evening about the community at La Casa's premises. The screenings were followed by moments of discussion and debate among roommates about their vision of community life at La Casa.

And what about singles then? Ah, love, love, love... Arriving in a new city while being single is also an opportunity to dive into the dating scene. Regardless of your age, numerous dating sites or dating apps offer both advice and new ideas for the best places or outings in Parisian bars to enjoy an unusual night in any neighborhood. Whether you want to discover Saint-Maur-des-Fossés for a day or Saint Germain en Laye for the evening, there is no shortage of outing ideas in Île-de-France and the capital. Building strong connections involves all of this, so if you share our vision, we're waiting for you