Nowadays, a lot of people are moving around. With increased globalization and easy of travel, it should not pose great problems to move from one city to another for work or education. I know from experience, I have done this four times already in life.
One of the greater challenges when moving to a new city is getting fully integrated. Okay, perhaps as a student it was fairly easy, but as soon as I started my career, I found it definitely more difficult to connect with my fellow co-workers; many of them have families, many simply want the best for their career, and generally the relationship I have with my co-workers is not as relaxed as during my student times.
One of the things I found extremely helpful is to join a club, or society, of some kind. And there are three basic reasons for that:
Getting to know new people
Of course, the first benefit is that you are getting to know new people. Here, I find it important that it is a true club or society, where you plan to stay for an indefinite amount of time. I have joined some groups for the purpose of, just as an example, following a language course for 6 months. But I did not find it very effective in really getting to know people.
In a club, you are getting to know people with similar interests, and you know that it is not going to ‘end’ at some point. This could be anything, from martial arts, to football or soccer, photography, sailing, aviation, or anything that interests you.
Similar interests also ensures, that you can connect much easier.
Learning and experiencing
I find clubs excellent learning experiences. Myself, I have always been interested in Japanese language and culture, and since almost a year I am practicing Japanese sword fighting (Kendo) at a club in my city.
This, for me, is a great opportunity to learn more about Japanese sword fighting and to hear and be able to speak some Japanese. Our training is once a week, and every time I am learning something new. I simply love it.
The benefit of routine
Last, members of a club will usually meet up regularly. I find this routine extremely beneficial, since you can plan the activity well ahead.
Additionally, the dynamics of the group acts as an extra motivation to show up, provided that you put energy in connecting with the other group members.
Whatever you do, you will naturally put some energy in getting to know your club members. Especially when you are joining a sporting club of some sorts, it may be tempting to go there only for the sports and the workout. But there is much more to it.
Usually, such clubs have events, they have tournaments, they have barbecue parties. All of these are extremely fun, provided that you see yourself an integral member of the club, and you are willing to give something back.
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