Moving To A New City: The Social Challenges

By Author: Roopa Venkat
Total Articles: 2
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Relocating to a new city is an exciting and scary experience. Inevitable as it is, at some point we all end up doing it- whether it’s for work, school, or maybe we just need a change of scene.

Moving to a new city is rough on your social and personal life. Moving to a new city involves a lot of planning and thinking.

A year ago I moved from Washington, DC to India on an assignment. My family chose to move with me. Moving to India and thinking of ways to Ship to India were the least of my worries. There were a number of Moving companies offering a wide range of International Moving & Relocation services. Our Household goods packing and moving were undertaken by a professional team; formalities of Transfer of Residence, custom clearing were well taken care off. Excess baggage issues were handled by the moving company. The company that helped us Ship to India had a division handling Pet Relocation so our Pets were taken care off.

However once we landed in India the family had some worries on the social front. Being in new city, a new environment and being faced with new cultures can be quite ...
... over whelming. It took us a while to settle in.

Experiencing what the new city has to offer new restaurants, museums, parks, stores, and unique offerings of the area - but doing all of this by you eventually gets lonely.

We’ve had varying success developing our social life. At the organizations where my wife and I work, our coworkers are either unmarried or significantly older. We get along with them great in the office but we're not exactly hanging out together after work. Coworkers can always be a source of new friends these are my four tips for making new friends in a new place.

Expat clubs A popular meeting place for people in the same situation as you. Here you find people willing to get together for anything and everything ranging from happy hours, museum visits, sports outings, day trips, outdoor events, and even wine and food groups. The motto is "meeting everywhere about most everything." I've had success meeting people and its easier since everyone is a little nervous.

Volunteer. Great minds think alike, so do great souls and great hearts. Grouping yourself with other people who donate their time and energy for the betterment of others is a noble cause. Be but warned, do it only if you are truly willing to give it your all. People can tell when your willingness is not sincere, that's my take anyway.

Say Yes to Invitations. When your neighbors, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, classmates or other people invite you to something, join them! It's important and much easier to expand your network of friends through people who already know you. Work on those 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th degrees of separation. It's much easier to meet new people when you already know people there. Hopefully those who invited you will be good hosts and introduce you to people possessing similar interests as you.

Playgroups are informal sessions where mums, dads and kids meet in an informal environment very often comprising of fun activities for kids. In a play group parents stay to interact with other adults while kids enjoy play time.

Make the most of your time in the new city. Every city has a lot to offer in terms of culture, food, shopping, music, dance, weekend getaways. Explore the unexplored. And don’t worry about your pet. There are plenty of kennels to lodge your pet while you’re away.