Why Adult Friendships Are Harder Abroad

Adult friendships can feel difficult at any stage of life. But when you move abroad, the challenge often becomes much bigger.

Many expats arrive in a new country expecting that meeting people will happen naturally. In reality, building a social life abroad can take much longer than expected. You may meet people often, especially in international cities, but still feel emotionally disconnected or lonely.

This experience is incredibly common. Moving abroad changes almost every part of daily life at once. You are adapting to a new culture, new routines, a different language, and often a different version of yourself. At the same time, you are trying to build adult friendships without the comfort of your usual support system.

The good news is that meaningful friendships abroad are still possible. They simply develop differently than many people expect.

Adult Friendships Work Differently Than Childhood Friendships

One reason adult friendships feel harder abroad is because friendships naturally change as we get older.

When we are younger, friendships are built into our lives. School, university, sports, and shared schedules create daily contact without much effort. We spend time with the same people constantly, which allows closeness to develop naturally over time.

As adults, life becomes more fragmented. People work longer hours, move cities more often, and juggle responsibilities like careers, relationships, and family obligations. Friendships no longer happen automatically. They require planning, emotional energy, and consistency.

For expats, this becomes even more complicated because moving abroad removes the routines and communities that previously made connection easier.

Many internationals suddenly realise how much of their old social life depended on familiarity and repetition. Back home, friendships often existed in the background of everyday life. Abroad, every social connection requires active effort.

Moving Abroad Means Losing Your “Default” Social Network

One of the hardest emotional parts of expat life is losing easy access to familiar people.

Back home, many friendships exist almost effortlessly. You know who to text after work, who will join you for dinner, or who understands your personality without explanation. These relationships create emotional stability, even if we do not always notice it.

When expats move abroad, that invisible support structure disappears overnight.

Even people who are independent and excited about international life can feel surprised by how lonely this transition becomes. Suddenly, everyday moments feel different. There may be nobody to call after a difficult day. Weekends can feel strangely empty. Holidays often become emotionally complicated.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, strong social relationships play a major role in emotional wellbeing. Losing regular social contact can increase feelings of isolation, anxiety, and homesickness.

This is one reason adult friendships abroad often feel emotionally urgent. Expats are not only looking for social activities. Many are also looking for emotional grounding and a sense of belonging.

Cultural Differences Change How Friendships Develop

Another challenge with adult friendships abroad is that friendship itself looks different across cultures.

In some countries, people appear warm and social very quickly. Conversations may feel easy, and invitations happen early. But emotional closeness may still take a long time to build.

In other cultures, people may seem distant or reserved at first. This can feel discouraging for newcomers. However, once trust develops, friendships often become extremely loyal and long-lasting.

Many expats misunderstand these differences in social style. For example, in some cultures, inviting someone into your home is very normal. In others, home life is private, and socialising happens mostly in public places. Some cultures rely heavily on group friendships, while others focus more on one-to-one relationships.

Understanding these cultural differences helps reduce frustration and prevents expats from taking social behaviour personally.

The cultural research platform Hofstede Insights explains how communication styles and social expectations vary significantly between countries, including attitudes toward openness, trust, and community.

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Why Expats Can Feel Lonely Even in Social Cities

One confusing part of expat life is that loneliness can exist even when your social calendar looks full.

Many internationals attend networking events, language exchanges, coworking meetups, or social dinners regularly. Yet they still feel emotionally disconnected. This happens because social activity and emotional intimacy are not the same thing.

A person may spend every weekend surrounded by people and still feel like nobody truly knows them. This is especially common in international environments where relationships can feel temporary.

Many expats experience what could be called “surface-level socialising.” They meet lots of people, but conversations stay repetitive and shallow. The same questions appear again and again:

• Where are you from?
• How long have you been here?
• What do you do?

Over time, these interactions can become emotionally tiring. They create social contact without necessarily creating closeness.

This is one reason adult friendships abroad often require patience. Emotional trust usually develops slowly through repeated experiences, not through one good conversation.

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Language Barriers Affect Connection More Than People Expect

Even expats who speak the local language well may feel socially different abroad.

Humour, emotion, sarcasm, confidence, and personality are often harder to express outside your native language. People may become quieter, more cautious, or more self-conscious during conversations. This can create emotional distance in adult friendships.

Some expats also avoid social situations because they feel embarrassed about language mistakes or misunderstandings. Others become mentally exhausted after speaking a second language all day and stop socialising entirely.

Language barriers do not only affect communication. They also affect identity. Many internationals describe feeling less funny, less intelligent, or less expressive in another language. Over time, this can reduce confidence and make friendship-building feel emotionally draining.

Social Media Creates Unrealistic Expectations About Expat Life

Social media can make adult friendships abroad feel even harder.

Online, expat life often looks exciting, social, and full of adventure. Photos show rooftop dinners, weekend trips, and large friendship groups. But these images rarely show the loneliness, awkwardness, or emotional uncertainty behind international life.

Many expats compare their real experiences to these idealised versions of social success.

At the same time, watching friends and family back home continue their lives together can create another layer of emotional distance. You may feel as though you are missing important moments while also struggling to fully settle into your new environment.

Research discussed by Harvard Health Publishing shows that long-term loneliness and social isolation can affect both physical and mental health.

This is why building genuine adult friendships abroad matters so much. Human connection is not simply a social luxury. It is an important part of emotional wellbeing.

How Expats Can Build Stronger Adult Friendships Abroad

Although adult friendships abroad can feel difficult, they are absolutely possible. Most meaningful connections simply grow more slowly and intentionally than people expect.

One of the most important mindset changes is understanding that friendship usually develops through consistency rather than instant chemistry. Instead of searching immediately for “best friends,” focus first on creating regular social routines.

Repeated interaction matters enormously. This is why recurring activities work better than random one-time events. Seeing the same people regularly allows familiarity and trust to grow naturally over time.

For many expats, some of the best environments for building adult friendships include: sports clubs, coworking spaces, language classes, volunteering, hobby groups, creative workshops or professional communities.

Adult Friendships Often Depend on Initiative

Another important reality is that many adults feel socially hesitant, especially abroad.

People are busy. Many are tired. Some are shy. Others assume nobody wants deeper connection. Because of this, friendships often fail simply because nobody takes the next step.

Expats who build strong social lives abroad are often the people willing to follow up.

This does not need to feel forced or overly intense. Sometimes a simple message after meeting someone can make a huge difference:

• “It was great meeting you.”
• “Want to grab coffee next week?”
• “Are you going to that event again?”

Small acts of initiative help adult friendships move beyond casual conversation.

It Helps to Accept That Not Every Connection Will Last

One emotionally difficult part of expat life is that some friendships are temporary.

People move countries, change jobs, return home, or enter different life stages. This instability can make some internationals afraid to invest emotionally in new relationships. But temporary friendships still matter.

A person does not need to stay in your life forever for a friendship to be meaningful. Some connections are important because they help you through a specific chapter of life abroad. Accepting this reality can make social life feel less disappointing and more natural.

Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Many expats believe they need a large social circle to feel happy abroad. In reality, emotional connection matters much more than social appearance.

Sometimes one or two trusted friendships can completely transform your experience in a new country. Feeling emotionally safe, understood, and supported matters far more than constantly attending social events.

Adult friendships abroad often become stronger because they are built through vulnerability, adaptation, and shared life transitions. Many internationals say the friendships they formed overseas became some of the deepest relationships of their lives.

Not because they happened easily, but because they were built intentionally.

Adult friendships abroad are harder because expats are rebuilding social connection while also adapting to major life changes. Cultural differences, language barriers, loneliness, busy schedules, and emotional uncertainty all play a role. But struggling socially abroad does not mean you are failing.

For most expats, meaningful adult friendships take time. They grow through repeated interaction, emotional openness, and patience rather than instant connection.

The important thing is to keep showing up. Real friendships abroad rarely happen overnight, but they can become some of the most valuable relationships in your life.

1. Why are adult friendships harder abroad?Adult friendships abroad are harder because expats lose their familiar social networks while also adapting to a new culture, language, and daily routine. Building trust and emotional closeness usually takes time.

2. Is it normal to feel lonely after moving abroad?Yes. Many expats experience loneliness, especially during the first year abroad. Even people who are socially active can feel emotionally disconnected while adjusting to a new environment.

3. How can expats make friends more naturally?Repeated activities usually help the most. Joining clubs, coworking spaces, volunteering groups, or language classes creates regular contact that allows friendships to grow naturally over time.

4. Why do some expat friendships feel temporary?International life is often unstable. People move countries, change jobs, or return home frequently. This can make friendships feel temporary, but temporary connections can still be meaningful and important.

5. Can adult friendships abroad become deep relationships?Absolutely. Many expats develop very strong friendships abroad because they bond through shared experiences, vulnerability, and major life transitions.