How to make friends in Switzerland (an honest guide from someone who arrived in 2025)

Nobody warns you about this before you come: the hard part of Switzerland isn't the German, the rent, or the cold. It's the Saturday afternoon silence when you have no one to text.

We arrived on July 7, 2025 and went through it. This guide is what we wish we'd read back then — no clichés, just what worked.

Why it's harder here

The Swiss aren't cold, they're organized. Their friendships were built at school, in clubs and in the army, and their calendars are full months in advance. It's not against you — it's just that no one is expecting new people. So the trick isn't "being friendlier": it's going where people are already open to meeting someone.

What worked for us

• Going to events where everyone shows up alone. At a dinner where everyone signed up without knowing anyone, no one's staring at their phone. That's how we made our first friends — and that's why we created Swiss Meetup.
• Repeating. Someone you see once is an acquaintance. Twice, is someone you already have inside jokes with. Three times, is a friend. Go to the same kind of thing more than once.
• Saying yes to things you didn't do back in Portugal. Pilates, ceramics, a trip to a lake you've never heard of. The activity is an excuse; the conversation is the goal.
• Speaking Portuguese and German (or French) in the same week. The Portuguese community gives you comfort; local groups give you roots. You need both.
• Sending the second message. After the event, be the one to write. "That was fun, let's do it again?" It's the step almost no one takes — and it's what turns a meetup into a friendship.

What didn't work

• Waiting for coworkers to become friends. Sometimes it happens; most of the time it stays at coffee level.
• Friendship apps. Lots of chatting, few people in real life.
• Going to one huge group once and giving up because "nobody talked to me". Small groups, round table, someone introducing everyone — that's what works.

Where to start this week

If you're in Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Geneva or Lucerne, check out the upcoming events — most people come alone, groups are small and we introduce everyone at the start. If there's no date in your city yet, subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the page: events open first to people on the list.

"I don't know who traumatised you into thinking you won't make friends here in Switzerland, but welcome to my life." — Francisca, after her second event

You come for the events. You stay for the people. It's not a slogan — it's just what happened to us.