Starting school in a new environment may not be easy. Starting university in a new city like London won’t be easy either. Especially if you are coming to London from another country. However, this daunting future may not be that bad in reality at all. In fact, starting university in a city like London may help you grow as a person and find lifelong friendships if you are willing to put yourself out there. Here’s how you can make friends at university in London.

Join Freshers’ Week

Freshers’ Week is like an orientation period for universities in the UK. However, Freshers’ Week is more than some of your future professors showing up to talk about their classes. In fact, Freshers’ Week includes university-arranged activities, workshops, and general events that can help you find friends in your first week of university. Lots of restaurants, bars and restaurants in the university’s neighbourhood are also involved in Freshers’ Week because student life is an integral part of these neighbourhoods. 

Seek Out Student Clubs

There are plenty of student clubs in universities. From theatre to dance, you can find anything that you are interested in. At these clubs, you can find like-minded friends who are trying to find friends like you are. Considering there may be other students in these clubs, these older students can help you find other activities that you can join. 

Go To Common Areas At Your Campus

Interested in books and reading? The library is your stop. Interested in sports? The school gym should be your stop. Feeling a bit peckish? The food court at your campus might be the perfect place! Most universities in London have many common areas where school-goers visit every day and live their lives. Going to these common areas may not give you fast friendships on day one but after time, you will come across familiar faces. Something simple like saying hi may turn into a friendship in time. 

Have An Open Door Policy Where You Stay

If you are staying in student residences like Hackney Wick Park or Vega Residence, there will be other first-year students like you and having an open door in the beginning when you’re not doing much in your room may help you find friends at your residence. Staying in the same residence can build a camaraderie between first-year students and you can easily socialise while you are helping other students to settle in. You can also find dining and entertainment spots in your residence’s neighbourhood together. 

Discover The University’s Neighbourhood

Most university students hang around the school neighbourhood if they are not at the school campus. These neighbours’ local businesses are usually built around student life because that’s what brings the crowd into their businesses. So, they usually involve activities and products that attract students. When you visit these local businesses, there’ll be some regular customers from the neighbourhood but there’ll be also fellow students. You can approach them without feeling awkward especially if you’re sharing a class with them and find some common ground to build new relationships. 

Get Involved in Your Neighbourhood

London is busy with activities, organisations and work. You can have part-time work at your university or off-campus, you can look for volunteer work to contribute to your neighbourhood or befriend a local business owner when you become one of their regular customers. Not all your friends will be from the university you will be attending. Some of your friendships can bloom thanks to the residence you stay, local businesses you frequently visit or some Activism work to contribute to the world. 

Starting a new life as a university student can be overwhelming. But once you become familiar with your surroundings and you create your own routine between your classes and social activities, your kind of people will find you in London. Hopefully, you will get to build friendships that will last a lifetime.