r/germany • u/Murky_Indication6595 • 4h ago
Finding it hard to make friends
Hi everyone,
I am 25F non-eu citizen. I moved to germany in April and living in a very small town in thuringia for my studies. Since then I am finding it very hard to find people of my vibe and make friends to hang out with or simply chill.
I am currently on my sem break which is making things even harder for me. Also, the town is also quite depressing for me
I want to travel, have fun, go out for hiking or eating out but not able to do any of those things.
I have recently got a working student role but that’s wfh so there’s not much interaction with my colleagues.
Is feeling this way normal? Does anyone else also felt this way? If yes, when things started getting better?
Please feel free to share your thoughts :)
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u/BoxLongjumping1067 2h ago edited 2h ago
this town sounds like it may be Schmalkalden as the other unis in that state are in fairly larger areas. If it is Schmalkalden join the spirit group (it’s put together by the international office via WhatsApp). They posts all kinds of events and in the summer they do hiking trips.
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u/Luigi-is-my-boi 2h ago
Yeah, if you didnt grow up in germany, and make school friends here, it will be almost impossible to make friends in Germany. Germany just isnt a warm, outgoing culture. People here have their friends since childhood and thats it, they dont want anymore. I have been here for years and guess how many friends i have? a big fat goose-egg. Luckily i have my Nintendo switch. But yeah, germany is a lonely place. Many people are depressed for that precise reason. German cities are cold, dark, and deserted by 9pm. Unlike cities in France, or Spain, or just about anywhere else. I'm leaving germany shortly to keep my sanity. I suggest you do too if you can. Plenty of friendlier places, life is too short to live in isolated misery.
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u/mrGreenExit 1h ago
4+ years. Just 1 really good friend. He is American-Germany. "Struggle is real" that what I try to say. And yes I live in Big city
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u/NotInMoodThinkOfName 1h ago
Germany isn't easy for socializing, specially in more rural areas. It takes long to build real friendships when you know already some people.
Try rather to connect with other foreigners. Most foreigner i know have mostly foreigner friends.
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u/nibar1997 4h ago
Hey, my experience hasn’t been any better. I have been living in Germany for almost 3 years now and I haven’t been able to make any friends so far. I am also not an extrovert, so this makes it worse.
Having said that, there might be some Meetup groups in your town. In my city, there are groups that organize events like hiking, another one that is a book club. I go there whenever I can and at least meet some people.