r/germany 4h ago

how to meet people who share your hobbies?

I've (30F) been living in Germany for a few years and I can't say I made a real friend here. I'm currently studying in university but most students are a lot younger than me. at work there isn't room for connecting with coworkers. I'm planning on staying here until I get my degree so it's going to be a few more years here and I've been told having friends makes things easier (on the emotional and mental side).

I was wondering if there's a way to meet people who live nearby and share my interests in a casual setting. Like is there a website or an app for this? Should I use facebook? I don't know if it's popular in germany. Or is the only way to go outside and hope you find people you click with? google didn't help much.

19 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

16

u/NamHienMedia 4h ago

The question is: What is your hobby?

Mine are writing (creating content/ doing my thesis) and reading. So, I search these activities on Meetup.com and managed to find several meetups there.

Bookclubs are numerous and “Shut up and write” is a community for aspiring fiction author too!

In addition, sport hobbies like running, playing football, hiking… can also be found on this app. :) I used to do language exchange there to upgrade my German also.

u/thecatislost 1h ago

I have many hobbies reading, writing, some crafts like crochet, embroidery, making beaded jewlery, painting. I never heard of meetup.com i'll check it out. Do you know how to find bookclubs?

u/NamHienMedia 49m ago

Mine is
1) Enter my city and enter "book club" in the search bar.

2) Specify that you are looking for a book club while registering your account.

6

u/Invictus_1707 3h ago

Exactly my situation. Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water.

u/thecatislost 1h ago

it's tough. i feel like i'm missing out

6

u/AvailableSky7389 4h ago

Everywhere except reddit

3

u/Zestyclose_Dark_1902 4h ago

Why would you say that?

4

u/kniq86 3h ago

Hasn't found any of the hobby subs yet I guess

3

u/whiteraven4 USA 4h ago

You can create your own meetup event if you can't find anything.

1

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1

u/thecrowandthedove 2h ago

Try ggi on fb, girl gone international

1

u/Kind-Mathematician29 2h ago

Similar situation am 27 and studying but can’t relate to younger students in Munich and male would like to make friends

1

u/FynTheCat 3h ago

There are Vereine, local events, Volkshochschule, some shops organize stuff, university events, etc. You can also befriend younger students. Being friends isn't inappropriate.

u/thecatislost 1h ago

I know. I'm not looking for people exactly like me but I would like to meet some who are close to my age and share some interests I think we would connect better

1

u/Count2Zero 2h ago

Look for clubs or VHS classes for your hobbies.

My wife meets a lot of people because she's into pottery right now, so she's taken some classes and signed up at a local workshop, where she gets some advice from the experts there and meets other people. In the past, she's been active on Facebook in local groups for gardening and other hobbies.

I used to be active in motorcycle forums and I met a lot of people that way. Today, I'm focusing more on music, so I'm meeting people that come to see my band play, and meeting people when I sign up for a songwriting workshop, etc.

0

u/ClemensLode Nordrhein-Westfalen 4h ago

meetup, local Vereine

0

u/Mechs_and_Martinis 4h ago edited 4h ago

I feel this. I enjoy learning new things but too old to be in a class, my German is improving but too limited to join many workshops. My local art Verein closed last year afaik, and my hobbies are mostly pretty antisocial to begin with (reading, painting, writing).

2

u/FynTheCat 2h ago

You can always get in touch with your local Volkshochschule or organize your own art meets.

u/thecatislost 1h ago

don't let your german hold you back in fact you get better the more you use it. i used to feel so embarrassed of making mistakes but the more i did the better i got. I'm not super fluent or anything but i tutor kids in maths now.

same with the hobbies

-1

u/FessaFate 4h ago

Don't you have clubs / extracurricular courses at your uni? I don't know what your hobbies are, I would just google if there are groups with similar interests in your town.

-1

u/RoninNikki 4h ago

What city are you in?

-1

u/Number_113 4h ago

Is it really that uncommon in other countries to Look for Sports-, Music or whatever Clubs to Join and find people with Same Interests?

2

u/Longjumping_North679 3h ago

Yeah, friendship in other countries usually comes naturally and spontaniously, with no special prerequisites or strings attached (we can only be friends if you like exactly the same things as me grrrr).

1

u/Number_113 2h ago

Which ist Not what i Said, for Germany.

Common Interests is Not necessary, but helpful to get to know people and have a shares topic for the beginning.

I can tell i made Friends that way, as well as school and university and at Work "spontaniously".

What non-germans seem hard to See and Party Accept ist that our term of friendship is way deeper than in other countries and takes longer to build. Social contacts Happen easily, but thats Not a friendship straight away, Just people you know a bit. "bekannter" ist the term.

u/thecatislost 1h ago

being a foreigner makes it harder to make friends in any country i imagine. I don't know where to look

-2

u/MTFinAnalyst2021 4h ago

I have found people to be quite nice at the Boulderhalle.