Moving to Spain is exciting, but making friends from scratch can feel tricky. Friends don’t just make life more fun, they help you feel part of the community and give support when things get tough. This guide shows you how to start building a social life, with advice for everyone, whether you’re working, retired, or moving with family.

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Try Different Activities and Classes

• Take Spanish classes: Learning Spanish is one of the easiest ways to meet people in the same situation as you. You’ll have something in common to talk about, which makes starting a conversation easier.
• Join hobby groups: Cooking, dancing, music, art, or sports classes give you regular chances to meet people.
• Sign up for workshops or clubs: Local community centers often run yoga, photography, crafts, or other fun classes.

Getting out and joining activities gives you a reason to be around people. Even if you feel shy, going regularly helps others notice you, and conversations start naturally. Look for classes and clubs on your town hall website, local Facebook groups, Meetup.com, or noticeboards in libraries and cafés. Flyers in supermarkets or gyms can also point you to classes and events you might not find online.

Make Friends at Work

• If you work in an office: Join colleagues for coffee, lunch, or after-work get-togethers.
• If you work from home: Try co-working spaces, networking events, or gyms with classes where people meet regularly.
• Start small: Even brief chats can lead to invitations to social events or casual meet-ups.

Work is an easy place to meet people, but it takes effort. Don’t stick only with people from your home country, mix with colleagues from everywhere. If you’re working remotely, it’s easy to get stuck at home. Make networking a part of your routine, even if it’s just attending one event a week. Small gestures, like asking someone for advice or sharing lunch, often lead to bigger friendships.

Volunteer and Join Local Groups

• Help out at charities: Animal shelters, food banks, and local projects welcome volunteers.
• Join clubs or associations: Many towns have hobby or social groups that welcome newcomers.
• Go regularly: Showing up weekly or monthly helps you get known and start making friends.

Volunteering or joining groups lets you meet people while doing something meaningful. You’ll often find the friendships formed in these situations are deeper than casual ones, because you’re working toward the same goal. Even small commitments, like helping at one event a month, can grow into long-term connections.

Get Your Family Involved

• For children: Sign them up for sports, music, or art classes with Spanish children as well as internationals. This helps them make friends and gives you chances to meet other parents.
• For parents: Attend school events, parent-teacher meetings, or organize playdates.

Family life is a natural way to meet people. Kids make friends through activities, and parents often meet each other at the same events. Volunteering at school, helping with transport, or attending extracurricular activities can create organic ways for parents to connect.

Make Spanish Friends

• Start small: Chat with neighbors, parents of your kids’ classmates, or people at cafés, shops, or parks.
• Go to local events: Festivals, markets, and town celebrations are easy ways to meet people.
• Show interest: Ask about food, traditions, or local recommendations. It’s an easy conversation starter.

Making friends with Spanish people helps you understand the culture and feel like part of the community. Even short chats, like asking for directions at a market or commenting on something in a café, can grow into real friendships. The more you visit the same places regularly, the easier it becomes to get to know people.

Go to Community Events

• Festivals and fairs: Town celebrations and cultural festivals are great ways to meet people.
• Markets and craft fairs: Casual settings where you can strike up conversations.
• Cultural events: Concerts, theater, or exhibitions give you shared things to talk about.

Going to events alone is fine. Showing up consistently makes it easier to get noticed and welcomed. Even small gestures, like complimenting someone or asking about the schedule, can start a conversation that grows into friendship.

Use Online Groups

• Facebook groups: Many towns have local activity or social groups.
• Meetup.com: Lists hobby-based events and casual meet-ups.
• Expat networks: Platforms like Internations help connect people who are new to Spain.

Online groups are a great starting point, especially if you don’t know where to begin. They help you find activities and people with similar interests. But meeting in person is what really builds lasting friendships, so try to move online connections offline whenever you can.

Make Socializing a Habit

• Consistency matters: Even small efforts, like stopping to chat at a café or going to one event a week, add up.
• Plan it in: Don’t wait for invitations; make socializing part of your routine.

Friendships grow when you make socializing part of everyday life. Small, repeated actions, greeting the same people, following up after meeting someone, or inviting someone for coffee, build relationships naturally over time.

Be Patient and Open

• Friendships take time: Local connections often grow slowly.
• Stay curious and keep trying: Showing genuine interest in people leads to stronger friendships.

Making friends in a new country is a process. Deep connections rarely happen immediately, but regular effort, showing up, and being open-minded pay off. Even small interactions can slowly become strong, meaningful relationships that help you feel at home.

When you move to a new country, you don’t always realise how much of a gap your old community leaves in your life. You notice it in the little things, there’s no neighbour popping round for a cup of tea, no familiar friends dropping by, no quick chats at the local café. That absence can be difficult, and it’s easy to feel it in your day-to-day life. Building a new circle of friends in Spain helps fill that gap, giving you support, companionship, and a sense of belonging. Often, it’s this network of friends, neighbours, and connections that makes the biggest difference in how much you enjoy living here.

Have you made friends in Spain through a club, class, or association? Share your tips in the comments below and let others know where they might meet people too!

Main image: Shutterstock/Raisa Kanareva