Moved to Dublin and Know Nobody? How to Build a Social Life

Give yourself a home base

Dublin is easy to spread yourself thin across. Rather than trying to meet people in every corner of the city, pick one area and get to know it. A regular coffee place, a local gym or pool, a pub you go back to, a library. Staff recognise you, people on the same routine nod, and the area starts to feel like yours.

If you commute across town, choose the area near where you live or work, whichever you spend more evenings in. Places like Rathmines, Phibsborough, Stoneybatter, Drumcondra and Dún Laoghaire all have enough going on to build a routine around, but the best neighbourhood is simply the one you can get to without a long journey after work.

Choose things that repeat

One brilliant night with strangers rarely makes a friend. A weekly thing does, because you keep seeing the same people. Options that work well in Dublin include a running club or parkrun on Saturday mornings, a five-a-side league, a GAA, rugby or soccer club with a social side, a climbing gym, a choir, an improv or pottery class, a pub quiz team, or volunteering for something local.

Sea swimming has become a social thing in its own right around Dublin Bay. The regulars at places like the Forty Foot will chat to anyone who turns up regularly. Take sensible care with cold water, go with others and respect local advice on conditions. Whatever you pick, commit to six weeks before you decide whether it works.

• Look for clubs and classes that run in the evenings so they fit around work.
• Ask at the end of a session whether people go for a pint or a coffee afterwards.
• Say your name, where you are from and that you are new. Irish people are generally happy to help a newcomer find their feet.

Use your flatshare and your workplace

If you live with other people, you have a head start, even if it does not feel like it. You do not have to be best friends. A cuppa on a Sunday, a shared dinner now and then or an invitation to whatever they are doing at the weekend can open up a whole extra circle. Ask them where they go and what they would recommend.

At work, say yes to the after-work drinks even if you only stay for one. Colleagues often become the first Dublin friends, and the friends of colleagues become the second wave. If you work from home, look into co-working days or a regular coffee with someone from the team.

Meet people who are also looking

Dublin has plenty of other newcomers, including people who have moved from abroad, from the regions or back from overseas. They tend to be the quickest to say yes, because they are in the same position as you. Meetup groups, language exchanges, hiking groups and interest-based events can all be good, and so can apps built for meeting people in person.

Cravnn is a meetup and dating app for Ireland and the UK. You can browse people near you on the nearby grid, post in the community feed to ask what is on this weekend, and use chat with voice notes to get past the awkward first message. Cravnn is in open beta, so treat it as one tool among several, not the whole plan. Sign-up is free and Plus is free for the first month with no card.

How to turn a chat into a plan

The most common reason new friendships fizzle is that nobody makes a specific suggestion. 'We should grab a pint sometime' sounds friendly and means nothing, which is a very Irish way of being polite. Make it concrete. 'I'm heading for a walk in the Phoenix Park on Saturday at eleven, do you fancy it?' gives the other person something easy to say yes to.

Keep early plans short and low-stakes: a coffee, a walk, a quiz night. Expect some to fall through, which is just busy lives and not rejection. Follow up once, then try someone else. By the third time you have met someone, you are well on your way.

• Name a day, a time and a place.
• Make it easy to decline. A low-pressure offer is more likely to be accepted.
• If you are meeting someone new from an app or online, meet in public, tell a friend where you will be and use Meet Safe to share your live location if you want to.

When it gets lonely

There will be evenings when you feel like you are the only person in Dublin with nobody to call. That is normal, and it does not mean you are doing it wrong. Keep a few small rituals going, like a call home on a set night, a walk by the canal or the sea, and a weekly thing in the diary that gets you out the door.

If the loneliness starts to feel heavy or constant, tell someone, whether that is a friend at home, your GP, or the Samaritans on 116 123, which is free to call any time from Ireland or the UK. Asking for support is a sensible move, not a failure.