How to integrate in a new city ?

It’s not always easy when you’ve just moved to a new city to integrate, to find new habits, to adopt a new way of life… Indeed, everything you built in your old home must be remade in your new life. But don’t worry, you will be able to manage all these changes. Follow our advice and you won’t have any apprehension!

Integrating through activities

In order to integrate properly, we advise you to go for a walk in your new city, to look for places you like, where you feel good, where you could blossom… Knowing your new home is an important step to integrate well. Yes, if you know your city inside out, you’re already halfway there! All that’s left is to meet new people to enjoy it fully!

Join a regular activity

Whether it’s a sports activity, a cultural activity, a manual activity, whatever! Sign up in a place that you like and where you can meet people as passionate as you are. Indeed, you will immediately have a common interest which will facilitate the exchange and will break the ice.

Join an association

In addition to doing good deeds, being part of an association is an excellent way to meet people who share the same values as you. This is a great way to spend your free time!

Integrate through the internet

We are fortunate to live in an era where everything is simplified by the internet. Shopping, looking for information, applying for internships, everything is done in one click! So why not make friends through the internet?

Via dating applications

There is a multitude of dating applications to make friends… Whether it is Meetup, Bumble, or others, you have a wide choice of applications allowing you to meet a large number of people sharing the same interests as you.

But be careful about the accounts you create; make sure the person behind the screen doesn’t have bad intentions and is who they say they are.

Via social networks

More and more Facebook, Instagram, etc. pages are being created to facilitate exchanges between expatriates and students. You can easily connect with one of them and post messages on their page or reply to posts. Among the most popular pages, if you want to come to Barcelona for an internship, you can find the page “French in Barcelona”, or if you want to go to Madrid, you can follow the page “French in Madrid” …

No matter where you go, you will easily find an account to follow so you can integrate easily.

Frequently asked questions about how to integrate in a new city 

Can I integrate through sharing a flat?

Of course, you can! Most students choose to share a flat, because of the financial aspect, but also because it allows them to meet other people easily! There are a lot of roommate websites such as Idealista.com, Uniplaces.com, Spotahome.com and many others. You will be able to find the room that suits you at the budget that suits you.

Do I have to speak the language of the country to be able to integrate?

If you come to Spain for an internship, it is true that if you have a basic knowledge of Spanish, it will be easier for you to make yourself understood in the city by the shopkeepers, the inhabitants, etc. However, considering all of the above, you can easily integrate and interact with students who do not speak the language of the country themselves.