Finding Friends in France
When you arrive in Paris, every day is a new adventure, and everything is as beautiful as the films portrayed it to be. It's a bit overwhelming at first, moving into your apartment, learning how to navigate the metro, and setting up a bank account. But when everything is said and done, and you fully begin to unpack your bags, that's when a realization hits. You forgot to pack something that is irreplaceable, your best friends from home.
From my personal experience of moving to Paris twice and not knowing a single soul each time, it felt a bit lonely at first. Especially in a city like Paris, where everything and everyone is always changing, it can be hard to meet people who will be staying as long as you will.
Having a picnic by the Seine on a sunny day is an amazing thing to do, but it's even better when you can fill the table with your best friends. With a little bit of luck and effort, I was able to meet some amazing people whom I call my best friends after almost a year of living in Paris. Here's how you can too.
A Simple Hello
So where can you go to make friends? The first step is to look around at what brought you to Paris in the first place. For most reading this article, you're already a student at the American University of Paris, and your classmates are the people you'll be with for the next few semesters. It seems like an obvious option, but some people really do forget how a simple hello and invitation to coffee can change so much.
On the first day of classes, I noticed my future friend, Kylie Fast, MA in Global Communications student. Since we saw each other every day on the first week of school, I assumed we'd have more classes together as the semester progressed. So, I thought, why not say hi and invite her to something outside of the walls of AUP. After that we've been friends ever since, and as I predicted, we have had multiple classes together.
Even if the first week of classes has come and gone, it's still not too late to reach out to a classmate you'd want to talk to. I approached another future friend of mine, Sophie Chirco, MA in Global Communications, just two weeks before classes ended. I invited her out for coffee. Now it's become almost a daily activity between us. Both friendships stemmed from a simple hello.
Bumble BFF
If you'd like to expand outside of the world of AUP, Bumble BFF is a free and great app to use. I've met more than a handful of my closest friends using the app, and I don't think we would have crossed paths without it. You can meet students studying at other universities, AuPairs from all over the world, expats, and anyone who's decided to relocate to Paris.
You create a profile just like you would on a regular dating app, except your prompts and responses are catered more towards activities you'd like to do with friends. For example, one of my prompts was, "I'm using Bumble BFF for potential new BFFs: We could explore the city, take pictures, chitchat over coffee, and plan picnics."
I met my very first best friend in Paris using the app. Audrey Davis, an AuPair from New Mexico, had arrived at the beginning of January (same as me), and we met two weeks into our new lives in Paris. After matching on Bumble BFF, she instantly messaged me extending an invitation to get coffee, go on a walk, or go thrifting together (all hobbies we mentioned we were interested in on our profiles). It's a bit nerve-wracking at first meeting up with a stranger, but as soon as I walked in, we instantly began talking as if we had been friends for years. We bonded over just arriving in Paris and the rest is history.
Seek Out Your Favorite Hobbies & Activities
What's great about Paris is that there is ALWAYS something happening, you just have to know where to look. A good way to start is by identifying your hobbies. Is it reading books? Is it running? Or do you enjoy walking more? If you have an interest in those activities, just know that other people do as well, and most of them have already formed a club just waiting for you to join! A quick Google search can put you in contact with the Instagram page of, The Feminist Book Club (@thefbcparis), or you can check out The Immigrant Book Club (@immigrantbookclub). These are just a few to look into and if you're more of a runner than a reader there are groups for you too.
Paris is one of the most beautiful cities to run in! Check out on Instagram @runtheboroughs to become a part of an amazing group that motivates you to get better and faster each week. My personal favorite, on Instagram @co_riendo.rc, if you miss a little bit of your Hispanic home and want to connect with other Latina runners. Finally, if you're not a runner and more of a walker, there is a group for that too. Check out on Instagram, @thegirlswhowalk.paris, the group usually meets every Sunday afternoon for a stroll around different parts of Paris. These are great places to not only meet new people, but also to keep you productive and sticking to your hobbies.
Time Left to Make Friends
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have dinner with six strangers? The concept is very interesting and is what the TimeLeft app advertises. Kind of like a dating app, the TimeLeft app advertises an algorithm that will group you with people you'd get along with for a dinner. First, you take a personality test, you select what your location and budget are for a dinner, and then ta-da! You now have dinner plans with five strangers.
You know nothing besides the restaurant TimeLeft recommended (off of your selected budget), everyone's nationalities, and their occupations. The rest is a mystery and once everyone arrives you get to unravel the life stories behind the people at your table. I've only recently tried this method to make new friends. I would say it's something that everyone should experience at least once.
In just one night, I got to meet two new French people, a Colombian man, and a Russian man, and a woman from Lebanon. I got to hear about the different cuisines of Lebanon, a French woman's journalism job sending her to India, a Colombian man's upbringing, a Russian man's new start at business school, and a French man's new career path. Although we didn't walk away best friends, this experience showed me how diverse the city of Paris is when it comes to bringing people in.
The dream of living in Paris is shared among many. People from all different paths of life come to this city in hopes of building a new home. There's a quote by Robin Hobb that goes, "Home is people, not a place," and after almost a year, I've built a great home. If you ever find yourself looking to build a home, just remember the simplest way to start is with a simple hello.
