Living in France : 4 Practical tips for finding friends (and building amazing friendships!)

So maybe you just moved to Paris as a student, or for work. It's an exciting chapter! Living in a foreign country is a great opportunity to discover new things. But it's also incredibly daunting, challenging and lonely. How on earth can you make new friends?

I remember when I was first living in Paris, I started to meet people but it wouldn't last for different reasons. Paris is an amazing city, but there is also a disposable culture that exists, meaning people will come in and out all of the time. It means that you will meet new people all the time, but they may not stay for a long time. This is fine, but if you plan on staying in Paris for awhile, it can be really tricky to find your sense of "home" and even your roots. Below are some of my tips for building your network :)

1. Hobbies : look for people who share your hobbies, passions, etc! There are lots of different activities available : art, sports, museum visiting, traveling, etc. Paris offers a lot so try to find people who share things in common with you. This will allow you to build a link.

2. Groups : when you have met people, try to have different groups of people to meet up with. They don't have to be big, but this was great for me because if one group wasn't available, then I could meet up with 1 or 2 other people for dinner or a drink. Plus it's also nice to have different perspectives.

3. Consistency : for me, this made a huge difference! Meeting up a few times a month consistently, and/or keeping in contact by message was huge. It allowed me to have contact with my friends, and helped created some solid friendships. Definitely try to say yes to drinks, dinner, and special occasions when you can! I try to meet up with my friends a few times in month, and also every 1-3 months with other groups depending on their schedules.

4. Types of people : as I mentioned, Paris has a huge disposable culture. I always love meeting new people, but since I wanted to stay long term (5 years minimum), what I have noticed is that the people I tend to connect with have solid jobs and live in the city on their own or in relationships. Most of my friends are over 30 years as well. This being said, you can do as whichever you like, but these are some of the trends that I noticed that have allowed me to build some great friendships.

Overall, I would say that I have the privilege of having some amazing friends, from different ages, from different walks of life. It has also taken me 4 years to having met these people, but it has made all the difference in my life. And I am so grateful for this.