You’ve made the move to Toronto? Congratulations on a great choice. Or you are considering a move to Toronto, this is your sign to go for it! Toronto has a diverse and multicultural population, which contributes to its vibrant arts, music, and culinary scenes. You can explore a wide range of cuisines, attend music festivals, visit art galleries, and enjoy live performances. The city also hosts numerous sports events, including basketball and hockey.
Toronto is known for its beautiful parks and outdoor spaces, such as High Park and the Toronto Islands. Here you can enjoy recreational activities, picnics, and scenic views. And with a great public transport system it’s really easy to get around. So we’ve established it is a great place to live, but now that you are there (or heading there soon) you think to yourself ‘how do I make friends?’
I made the move from Ireland to Toronto in 2017 with my best friend. And although, it was great that we had each other, we quickly realised we had no idea how to make friends in Toronto. I wish we had someone who’d done it all before to advise us. Hopefully this article helps you. Naturally, we made a lot of Irish friends. But the Irish have a reputation for being friendly and creating communities all over the world. So whether or not you are Irish, I know these tips will help you out in your first few months in Toronto.
Highs & Lows
Living abroad is a must-have experience for everyone in my opinion. And here’s why: 6 Reasons To Experience Life In A Different Country. However that doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges along the way. And making new friends is one of the biggest challenges of all. At home, we take our friends for granted. In a new place, if we don’t make friends instantly we can feel as though we are failing.
And it can increase the feeling of loneliness and home sickness. More on that here: Moving Abroad: 3 Tough Truths You Need To Know. So before we even embark on the friend finding adventure, just remember, it takes time to build connections and develop meaningful relationships. And that is okay. But there are some things we can do to start developing those friendships.
How To Make Friends In Toronto
As someone who moved to Toronto and experienced all of the highs and lows associated with living abroad for the first time; I have a few suggestions about how to go about making friends in this amazing city. I struggled with loneliness. And found it difficult to make friends as fast as I felt I should but eventually, I figured it out. Hopefully, with the suggestions below, you will too.
Consider Your Hobbies
Growing up, I had always been involved in sports, playing mostly Gaelic football (an Irish sport) with various teams. Before moving to Toronto, I had taken a year away from it. However, I soon realised that playing team sports is a great way to make friends. So, I joined a local Toronto club and made some friends for life. Picking up old hobbies is a great avenue to make friends in a new city. and it doesn’t have to be sports. Think about the hobbies you’ve enjoyed, is there any opportunity to meet like minded people through clubs, groups or meet-ups?
It is easy to Find A GAA Club In Toronto. There are numerous clubs with different skill levels so whether a seasoned pro or a total beginner there is a club for you. Everyone is so welcoming and understands the challenges of living away from home. There are regular training sessions and games on weekends in Summer. But there are also a lot of social outings throughout the year giving you a chance to make some life long friends.
Join Online Groups
Is Facebook still a thing?! Apparently so. The Irish and New In Toronto Facebook page was a great source of information and a way to meet friends. It is a page where people post questions, buy and sell useful items, make recommendations and even post about meet-ups and all things Irish. If nothing else, it connects you with like minded people who are new to the city and therefore experiencing the same thing as you. This group became so popular even with non-Irish newbies to Toronto that another group for non-Irish has been created called ‘New In Toronto‘.
We even met someone who turned out to be a great friend of ours through this page. He posted that he had just landed and wanted to meet people. We had been in Toronto a few months by now and knew how he felt. We private messaged him and invited him to a party we were having. He showed up and the rest is history. We were all part of the same tight knit group after that.
Reach Out To Old Friends & Acquaintances
Don’t under estimate the power of reaching out to old connections, acquaintances and even friends of friends. Just because you are not close friends with this person at home, doesn’t mean they won’t be a friend in a new city. In my experience, the community abroad support each other. So if you know anyone at all in Toronto (or whatever new city) drop them a message on social media, let them know you are open to meeting new people and any advice they might have.
When we moved, I found out a guy that was in my school was also new to Toronto. We had never been friends before but we messaged and met up. We introduced the few friends we each had and ended up being good friends whilst in Toronto. Another girl who I didn’t know well from home, messaged me when she heard I’d moved. She had been in the city for a few years but she invited me to join the GAA club she played for and introduced me to many people. I was eternally grateful and tried to do the same for others who arrived after I had established myself there.
Try Something New
There is no better time to try something new than when you have just started your new life in a new city. And it is also a great way to meet people. Before ever moving to Canada, I had been snowboarding in Europe a few times and really enjoyed it. So I decided that for the winter months I would find opportunities to improve my snowboarding skills. I joined the North Toronto Ski Club (another group I found through Facebook) as they travelled from the city to the mountains on weekends.
As it turned out, the trip was a few hours there and back which was quite exhausting to do over a weekend. But I was still able to spend a couple of weekends, trying out something that was relatively new for me and was able to meet people at the same time. I didn’t keep this up due to the distance however I’d highly recommend finding something that you want to try and going for it.
Socials At Work
Don’t forget that your work can be a great way to meet people and make friends. Some of my friends in Toronto chose to work in Irish bars and restaurants. Being in the hospitality industry there is already an obvious connection to staying late for a drink after closing. That social side was even stronger when it is a group of people away from home, working together. Think about the type of work you want to find and how well it aligns to meeting people.
You don’t have to work in hospitality to find this though. I worked a regular 9-5 office job with a Canadian company and my work colleagues were great. We had a great social culture where we stayed for drinks almost every Thursday, we regularly went out for lunch together. We even had special treats on bank holidays and Christmas such as half days to go to the movies together.
It was also my best opportunity to get to know Canadian people and they even joined me on a few social outings with my Irish friends. I know all companies are not like this but when you are interviewing, at least try to get a sense of the culture of the company. It may not be something you’ve considered before.
Cultural Activities
Living in such a vibrant multi-cultural city really gives you the opportunity to experience different cultures. And with that comes the opportunity to meet people and make friends. With this we can lean into our own cultural traditions AND we can experience others that are new to us. Explore every opportunity and you’ll meet people along the way for sure.
In general there is a strong Irish community in Toronto, therefore we often had the opportunity to go to Trad sessions (Irish Music nights) around the city, which is just one example. I was also good friends with someone from Nepal and he introduced me to some of the traditions that he recognised and often invited me to celebrate with his community. The Irish community always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day meaning finding people to celebrate with was not hard. We also celebrated Thanks Giving which was a chance to come together with others.
Meet-ups
Apart from everything we’ve already talked about, it is possible to find random meet-ups around the city. Usually I found out about these by googling ‘what’s happening in Toronto this weekend’ or ‘free things to do in Toronto’. You can always find things to align to your interests. For example we once went to a coffee and board games evening on a snowy November evening which was hosted in a coffee shop. We met people, played games, chatted and drank coffee. It was a simple way to pass the evening and I am sure there are opportunities like this for every interest.
The Rule Of 'Yes'
As you can hopefully see there are a lot of ways to meet people in Toronto and indeed any new city. The opportunity is there however, it is difficult to put yourself out there. Particularly for solo travellers, you need to push yourself to attend some of these things alone at first. And from there you will meet people. To inspire you to do that we might need to remind you Why Spending Time Alone Is The Ultimate Flex.
The truth is that no matter what opportunity there is, you will not make friends if you don’t put yourself out there. And that can be hard, especially if we are feeling lonely or struggling with new challenges. When my friend and I moved, we made a deal that for the first 3 months, we would say yes to everything we were invited to. Every house party, every coffee, every invite we received. And it was exhausting. But if forced us to put ourselves out there which eventually resulted in us making friends.
Finally I’d like to remind you that meeting people and making friends is very different. We met many people once or twice and then it just fizzled out or we never saw them again. Making friends and true connections takes time. So please don’t worry if you are 3, 6 or 9 months in and still feeling like you don’t have friends. It takes time but it is worth it. The true friends I made whilst travelling are some of my nearest and dearest now. Good luck with your new adventure! Please share your own tips & advice in the comments for others to follow.