I’ve been in Abu Dhabi for about three months and, apart from the people I work with, I don’t seem to have made many friends here. I’m not really into bars and nightclubs, so are there any other ways I could meet people and join groups?
The problem of isolation is one a number of expats face when they move to the country. As many of us put in extra long hours for our jobs, it’s easy to spend your spare time cooped up at home trying to recharge yourself for the next lengthy working day. So, if you’re not the most outgoing person in the world or don’t have a ready-made social life through your partner or colleagues, the city can be a pretty lonely place.
Luckily for you, there are a number of websites you can join where you’ll come into contact with other expats who are keen to make some pals while they’re living in Abu Dhabi. So we’d highly recommend joining one of these, braving the outside world and, hopefully, finding likeminded individuals to form friendships with.
One of these websites is Meet Up (www.meetup.com), a great site that points you in the direction of a number of different social groups. On the website there is a huge variety of clubs and groups for you to get involved with, including the Abu Dhabi Book Club, where you’ll be able to chew the fat about popular and classic novels with fellow literature lovers, and New in Abu Dhabi, where newbies to the capital congregate to help each other adjust to the culture shock of moving to the UAE.
Sportier friend-seekers can meet fellow would-be Haile Gebrselassies to pound the pavements around the city with at the Born To Run Abu Dhabi group, or, if you prefer moving at a slower pace, the Abu Dhabi Hikers and Walkers arrange ambles through picturesque parts of the emirate.
More esoteric groups include Hip Hop Ain’t Dead, where you’ll be able to meet some fellow baggy trousered, askew baseball cap-wearing homies to bust some rhymes with, and the Abu Dhabi Friends group, where fans of the classic ’90s sitcom can get together, watch episodes and discuss the intricacies of Rachel and Ross’s relationship.
Another social network that’s just set up in the capital is InterNations (www.internations.org), a worldwide meet-up group for expats across the globe, which organises outings and social events. However, membership is by invitation only, so ask around your colleagues to find out if they are members and ask them to let you join.
We recently joined them for a kayaking tour of Abu Dhabi’s mangroves, and found them all to be a cheery bunch that made us feel very welcome as we splashed our way through the capital’s watery jungle. Throughout December they’ll be holding numerous festive-themed social events, so get involved and make sure you don’t spend Christmas alone in your flat crying over a mince pie.
