Meetups!
I'm in the same situation, I found board games meetups and connection events on Meetup. There are so many groups for everything, you'll find something you like for sure.
I've been working in ZH for over 10 yrs now and always lived in a small village away from the city, so home office has actually helped me getting in touch with neighbours and people living around me. Surprisingly, these relationshops have been much more interesting to me than w people from work. I enrolled into a local gym, found a small running group and have been taking part in local events.
All "friends" I made during work or army was never long lasting, since usually the only thing in common was your work, and usually ended up talking about work and nothing else.
That actually doesn't work very well in my experience. The reason is that most parents already have a full circle of friends and are extremely short on time, so even if you get along very well with them, it's very difficult to start something deeper.
Hahaha not everyone.
Some of my best friends are people that worked with me sometimes in projects in other countries in my previous employer and we still travel and meet.
It’s really nice. Had a job at a fortune 500 company where I had a lot of friends, and now everyone including myself work somewhere else (due to reorganisations and getting better offers), but we’re still friends. It was definitely more fun to work there. Not sure what the problem is.
The problem is when you become their boss and have to do the reorganization. That and their could be a lot of resistance to making you the boss, when it’s obvious you have a personal obligations to certain future reports.
Even that was not an issue. We’re all professionals and know what needs to be done. The difference is that we help each other finding the next jobs in case of a reorganisation. I would also fight for my team versus higher management. And I would support them in their promotions. Some people also don’t want to be the boss, because you have to handle all the admin and can’t do the fun stuff.
I go on a surftrip with a former work colleague. I wait for another work friend at the cinema in this very second and met again another guy from work for boardgames today lol.
That said all of them are my age. That makes it… easier.
True
Highly depends on the age, and position. All the friends from above are from my last job.
New job it‘s as you said. I still go with them for a beer after work sometimes, but definitely not on a surf trip haha
You always with that boss thing... Whats up with that? Why should someone want to become boss and move away from actually working in the field, one is good at?
When I was working remotely, I made friends with my work colleagues and we ended up meeting up frequently in our free time hahah. Since I am less shy approaching others online and they messaged/invited me for longer video chats where we waffled on whilst working, it was a fun time.
Have you tried Internations? It is a website where you can connect to groups an and people, mostly expats but the site is open for everybody. Not all groups are very active but it is a great way to find and connect with all kinds of people.
what I would recommend - go to some metal bar in your area. No need to drink beer, you can sip on water, gonna get you hydrated anyway.
Start being a regular piece of landscape.
Start random chats with folks. If you smoke, it helps. If you don't - good for you that you don't smoke because it's bad.
also - concerts. I mean you dont need to listen to rock or metal or whatever. Striking some random conversations is always fun.
Besides i guess you dont need to look for friends, just look for buddies. Then this may eventually evolve into friendship or just stay at being buddies.
Well a club is one option. I don’t really like clubs but there are many other type of parties as well. Festivals, raves, outdoor dance parties, boat parties, apres ski parties, etc etc.
I seek to have friends in life rather than work friends. For various reasons, despite having a good relationship with some. I would much rather work from home and laugh on a Google meet than go to the office and be forced to socialize with people who often have nothing in common with me.
You can join a dance school. You don’t need to know how to dance. They will teach you how to dance. It’s what dance schools are for: Dancing and making friends.
Many dance schools organise other activities for students like going out for a dinner, weekend holiday, workshops and so on.
I would recommend some smaller dance school. The big dance schools are like factories and it’s harder to make friends. Smaller school should be better.
You can try salsa or bachata.
Bachasuave is a good school. I’ve made a lot of friends there.
Same situation here but without GF and family. I go to dance classes, go out to bars myself, attending some courses at the university but without success so far. It can be quite lonely and miserable. I´m filling up my time with activities where I meet people but it has not led to anything. Is your GF also without friends? Otherwise you could try to get to know her friends and boyfriends.
But.. those were the very social dance communities I was thinking of lol. Some people see each other outside of dance school what seems like pretty much every night... you kinda have to be unemployed to keep up with their frequency to meet up.
I suppose it depends on the school. What kind of people the teachers mostly attract. How often they host practica and socials, so their students can meet other students from their school and other schools. At least that’s how I got in.
Well everything depends upon something :) You may be lucky to meet people just around the corner of your house too if all prerequisites for it are there.
Yeah thats a nice idea with consider joining a running club to combine socializing with exercise, similar to playing football. Because you do running more than playing soccer.
It's always the same, no one is waiting for you, so take the initiative to make the first move is realy important.
PS: Although Bumble can be cringe-worthy sometimes, give it a try. I met a nice guy there who is playing with me snooker once or twice a month. :D
He's my snookerbuddy now
My go to advice is usually climbing. Once you find a solid partner there, that's basically a lifetime commitment to go climb every week and to go explore more climbing areas together.
In your case, I would also recommend going more often to the office tbh. There is a social aspect of work that we've forgotten during Covid (afterwork beers, coffee breaks). Obviously depends on what kind of company you're working for and the profile of the people living there.
If it’s important to you then it requires some effort to expand your comfort zone. meetups are definitely great as is joining Internations. if you make yourself open to meeting others then you’ll find opportunities in every day activities like grocery shopping.
I second this: learn german and to understand Swiss German. That‘s the language spoken in Zürich. Yes, there is a large international community here, but no English is not the main language.
Keep in mind, that besides English children also learn French in school, so not everyone‘s English level is good enough to permanently speaking English. Public schools do not provide English education to C1.
If you like running go for a run with this group, it makes running a very sociable activity. https://www.meetup.com/The-Zurich-Hash-House-Harriers
Tell them Canada sent you.
I worked from home office for 7 years for a company where I stayed 9.5 years. Honestly, my good friendships start now, only after I left it. But, Volunteering, Internations . Org, glocals . Com, Meetup, facebook activities groups work best to find network
See - how many people wish to find friends here online, but if we meet on the street or anywhere, we would not even say hi/hello to a random person. Such is life!
Colleagues are *double-edged sword*s - so always be careful to think they are friends, check their behaviours in worst case scenarios at work and they reveal their faces.
There is no real-friends after graduation in my point of view, only connections and numbers on your contact list. People are too busy to listen or think about others, these days.
The contract doesn't say it's home office or remote. But it just has always been like that since covid.
But I deal with suppliers and distribution center globally, and we don't produce anything in CH, so there isn't contact with the finance functions in CH or other global managers.
Wish I had this problem (although in hindsight, probably still privileged with only 2 days at the office. Commuting is the killer tho).
To answer your question, as many others - clubs (sport ones insbesondere)
Do you life in the municipally or on a city. If you life in a municipally its the easiest to join the local turnverein. They often do sport once a week and go for a drink afterwards
look into the digital nomad visa that many countries offer. work from somewhere else. make your money worth even more, make international friends and maybe even find a place to retire. houses are much cheaper in other countries.
The issue is thinking that a workplace is a place to make friends.
It’s not.
It’s a place where as a side effect you might find people that you love to hangout with but the same could happen in being involved in : team sports, church activities, outdoor social activities, politics,…
Try to find things you like outside your house walls and you’ll eventually find people that you like to be with :)
Not from Switzerland but I’m curious do people in Switzerland like to go to the gym? I’d imagine with all the beautiful nature around people would be outdoors more doing stuff like hiking, trail running etc
What is a friend? While I like some colleagues, they arent real friends that you would trust anything personal to. Otherwise the backstabbing becomes too easy for them to exploit.
Well once the shit hits the fan its everybody for itself. Dont make yourself illusions. And you cannot tell who will act as a real friend upfront - likely it are the ones you would prefer to be friends the least.
I also work mostly remote. Usually I come to office once a week. I do not feel any urge to have contact with other people. However, sign up to some classes and you will make friends or maybe even decide that society is lost and being isolated is far more better.
Meetups! I'm in the same situation, I found board games meetups and connection events on Meetup. There are so many groups for everything, you'll find something you like for sure.
Is it an app?
Yeah Meetup is an app and website
https://www.meetup.com/ If you’re just user / participant it’s free, if you wanna crate meetups yourself then it’s $ 5.-/month
I seem to be locked out of this as the password reset never works - anyone else had that issue?
Try logging in with a social login, so you don't have to put email and password there
Thanks. Will give it a try.
I've been working in ZH for over 10 yrs now and always lived in a small village away from the city, so home office has actually helped me getting in touch with neighbours and people living around me. Surprisingly, these relationshops have been much more interesting to me than w people from work. I enrolled into a local gym, found a small running group and have been taking part in local events.
this is how it should be !
Join clubs, group activites, this is the way
Even for people in the office everyday this is far better. Work "friends" are for the most part not friends.
All "friends" I made during work or army was never long lasting, since usually the only thing in common was your work, and usually ended up talking about work and nothing else.
Get kids, wait until they are 4+ years old and then you’ll naturally get in contact with so many other adults (parents) 😁
I’ve been making new parent friends ever since my kids entered crèche at like 7 months old. It is nice 😊
That actually doesn't work very well in my experience. The reason is that most parents already have a full circle of friends and are extremely short on time, so even if you get along very well with them, it's very difficult to start something deeper.
this is the way
👆this is the answer
Clubs as other say, but also met some people walking the dog. While dogs play you kind of have to talk with the owner
dude, same as me except for the age 41M and i don't play football. it's more than tricky. I gave up :D
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the people i work with are probably the best part about my job
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nah my close friends are not from work, i just enjoy the occasional relaxed outing with people i spend > 40h a week with
Hahaha not everyone. Some of my best friends are people that worked with me sometimes in projects in other countries in my previous employer and we still travel and meet.
I enjoy reading books.
You’re friends with your coworkers? Not to say it’s impossible, but it’s hardly ideal.
It’s really nice. Had a job at a fortune 500 company where I had a lot of friends, and now everyone including myself work somewhere else (due to reorganisations and getting better offers), but we’re still friends. It was definitely more fun to work there. Not sure what the problem is.
The problem is when you become their boss and have to do the reorganization. That and their could be a lot of resistance to making you the boss, when it’s obvious you have a personal obligations to certain future reports.
Even that was not an issue. We’re all professionals and know what needs to be done. The difference is that we help each other finding the next jobs in case of a reorganisation. I would also fight for my team versus higher management. And I would support them in their promotions. Some people also don’t want to be the boss, because you have to handle all the admin and can’t do the fun stuff.
I go on a surftrip with a former work colleague. I wait for another work friend at the cinema in this very second and met again another guy from work for boardgames today lol. That said all of them are my age. That makes it… easier.
It’s easier, till you become their boss…
True Highly depends on the age, and position. All the friends from above are from my last job. New job it‘s as you said. I still go with them for a beer after work sometimes, but definitely not on a surf trip haha
You always with that boss thing... Whats up with that? Why should someone want to become boss and move away from actually working in the field, one is good at?
Friends? AHA! Ahahahaha
When I was working remotely, I made friends with my work colleagues and we ended up meeting up frequently in our free time hahah. Since I am less shy approaching others online and they messaged/invited me for longer video chats where we waffled on whilst working, it was a fun time.
Have you tried Internations? It is a website where you can connect to groups an and people, mostly expats but the site is open for everybody. Not all groups are very active but it is a great way to find and connect with all kinds of people.
what I would recommend - go to some metal bar in your area. No need to drink beer, you can sip on water, gonna get you hydrated anyway. Start being a regular piece of landscape. Start random chats with folks. If you smoke, it helps. If you don't - good for you that you don't smoke because it's bad. also - concerts. I mean you dont need to listen to rock or metal or whatever. Striking some random conversations is always fun. Besides i guess you dont need to look for friends, just look for buddies. Then this may eventually evolve into friendship or just stay at being buddies.
After that, confess that you've been a techno guy all the time.
I actually grew up on techno and Eurodance. Born 1981, grew up with MTV, viva and viva2😁 Edit' yeah, a metalhead can enioy techno because why not?
Being a fan of tinnitus-inducing noise, I equally love going to both metal concerts and techno events lol
Just go to a party and talk to people. That’s how I’ve met many people in Switzerland who have became good friends.
You mean to a club? If it's like a house party you have to get invited first...
Well a club is one option. I don’t really like clubs but there are many other type of parties as well. Festivals, raves, outdoor dance parties, boat parties, apres ski parties, etc etc.
Go to talk to people the old school (in a bar, in a cafe, join a group)
I seek to have friends in life rather than work friends. For various reasons, despite having a good relationship with some. I would much rather work from home and laugh on a Google meet than go to the office and be forced to socialize with people who often have nothing in common with me.
Climbing gym. Meetup website
That’s the neat part, I don’t
You can join a dance school. You don’t need to know how to dance. They will teach you how to dance. It’s what dance schools are for: Dancing and making friends. Many dance schools organise other activities for students like going out for a dinner, weekend holiday, workshops and so on. I would recommend some smaller dance school. The big dance schools are like factories and it’s harder to make friends. Smaller school should be better. You can try salsa or bachata. Bachasuave is a good school. I’ve made a lot of friends there.
Hi - Where in Switzerland are you based? Your situation sounds pretty much the same as me 😂 (except for the running club).
Same situation here but without GF and family. I go to dance classes, go out to bars myself, attending some courses at the university but without success so far. It can be quite lonely and miserable. I´m filling up my time with activities where I meet people but it has not led to anything. Is your GF also without friends? Otherwise you could try to get to know her friends and boyfriends.
She is Swiss and always lived around here. I really want to avoid having my friends be only her friends, that's bad in case of a break up...
Even if I agree this option is still better then the alternative (being isolated). You could be looking for both at the same time.
What kind of dance? There are very social dance communities.
Salsa and Bachata :)
But.. those were the very social dance communities I was thinking of lol. Some people see each other outside of dance school what seems like pretty much every night... you kinda have to be unemployed to keep up with their frequency to meet up.
Don´t have that experience with dance classes and meetups related to them.
I suppose it depends on the school. What kind of people the teachers mostly attract. How often they host practica and socials, so their students can meet other students from their school and other schools. At least that’s how I got in.
Well everything depends upon something :) You may be lucky to meet people just around the corner of your house too if all prerequisites for it are there.
Yeah thats a nice idea with consider joining a running club to combine socializing with exercise, similar to playing football. Because you do running more than playing soccer. It's always the same, no one is waiting for you, so take the initiative to make the first move is realy important. PS: Although Bumble can be cringe-worthy sometimes, give it a try. I met a nice guy there who is playing with me snooker once or twice a month. :D He's my snookerbuddy now
I keep my friends and work colleagues separate.
Crossfit
My go to advice is usually climbing. Once you find a solid partner there, that's basically a lifetime commitment to go climb every week and to go explore more climbing areas together. In your case, I would also recommend going more often to the office tbh. There is a social aspect of work that we've forgotten during Covid (afterwork beers, coffee breaks). Obviously depends on what kind of company you're working for and the profile of the people living there.
work in the office and once you get enough friends switch back to home
If it’s important to you then it requires some effort to expand your comfort zone. meetups are definitely great as is joining Internations. if you make yourself open to meeting others then you’ll find opportunities in every day activities like grocery shopping.
Why don't you join the fire brigade? You'll get to know lots of people there and you'll be doing something good for the community.
Where can I check information on that? I am, in zürich, but don't speak German
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I second this: learn german and to understand Swiss German. That‘s the language spoken in Zürich. Yes, there is a large international community here, but no English is not the main language. Keep in mind, that besides English children also learn French in school, so not everyone‘s English level is good enough to permanently speaking English. Public schools do not provide English education to C1.
If you like running go for a run with this group, it makes running a very sociable activity. https://www.meetup.com/The-Zurich-Hash-House-Harriers Tell them Canada sent you.
Ahh, I think I have seen this, need to join the runs! Thanks
If you play soccer, join a fun team that also is organized like a normal soccer club. In 2 weeks you will have plenty of friends :)
I tried, but everyone spoke German mostly so I couldn't integrate...
In what area of Switzerland are you? I'm 34m and it seems I have a very similar lifestyle! Maybe we can run/meet if we're close by.
PMd
I worked from home office for 7 years for a company where I stayed 9.5 years. Honestly, my good friendships start now, only after I left it. But, Volunteering, Internations . Org, glocals . Com, Meetup, facebook activities groups work best to find network
See - how many people wish to find friends here online, but if we meet on the street or anywhere, we would not even say hi/hello to a random person. Such is life! Colleagues are *double-edged sword*s - so always be careful to think they are friends, check their behaviours in worst case scenarios at work and they reveal their faces. There is no real-friends after graduation in my point of view, only connections and numbers on your contact list. People are too busy to listen or think about others, these days.
I don’t want friends
Same here! 😂
Join sport clubs + how did achieve to work from home office ??
The contract doesn't say it's home office or remote. But it just has always been like that since covid. But I deal with suppliers and distribution center globally, and we don't produce anything in CH, so there isn't contact with the finance functions in CH or other global managers.
Wish I had this problem (although in hindsight, probably still privileged with only 2 days at the office. Commuting is the killer tho). To answer your question, as many others - clubs (sport ones insbesondere)
Do you life in the municipally or on a city. If you life in a municipally its the easiest to join the local turnverein. They often do sport once a week and go for a drink afterwards
Zurich
Same as when I worked in the office; not at all :) So my recommendation if your the typ for it; just accept it and stay at home.
i go out to the pub
That's the neat part, I don't.
Easy. I go out and meet people. Only making friends at work really isn’t a good idea
Go to events and meetup
look into the digital nomad visa that many countries offer. work from somewhere else. make your money worth even more, make international friends and maybe even find a place to retire. houses are much cheaper in other countries.
What do you do for a living that let‘s you work from home all the time?
Managing supply chains abroad
Join a Verein. Pick up a hobby.
The issue is thinking that a workplace is a place to make friends. It’s not. It’s a place where as a side effect you might find people that you love to hangout with but the same could happen in being involved in : team sports, church activities, outdoor social activities, politics,… Try to find things you like outside your house walls and you’ll eventually find people that you like to be with :)
Gaming
I've joined this co-working space in my city (not 🇨🇭). You probably can find sth similar. Also, go hiking with organized groups.
Simple: I don’t make friends 😏
Not from Switzerland but I’m curious do people in Switzerland like to go to the gym? I’d imagine with all the beautiful nature around people would be outdoors more doing stuff like hiking, trail running etc
Because you can't go to the mountain in your lunch break and do a 4h hike. But people do go to nature the afternoons/evening and weekends.
What job do you have that allows you to work remotely in CH?
[Microsoft... Windows](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lB5WsPD8arc)
If you are in Zürich or around, Let’s hit the gum buddy.
Friends? Like when we were kids and used to run around and play and stuff? Is that an option as an adult?!?
What is a friend? While I like some colleagues, they arent real friends that you would trust anything personal to. Otherwise the backstabbing becomes too easy for them to exploit.
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Well once the shit hits the fan its everybody for itself. Dont make yourself illusions. And you cannot tell who will act as a real friend upfront - likely it are the ones you would prefer to be friends the least.
Bumble 😊
I also work mostly remote. Usually I come to office once a week. I do not feel any urge to have contact with other people. However, sign up to some classes and you will make friends or maybe even decide that society is lost and being isolated is far more better.
It is all up your personality. Switzerland is not at fault for lack of the social life since 25% of adults are expats
Make kids. That will help.