Make Friends in Tamarindo that Stick
If you’ve been surfing long enough, you know surfers can be a tight group, tough to break into. Expat circles can be equally challenging to breech. Don’t let that bump you. There are ways to make short work of this challenge.
Here is a rundown of five easy tactics for meeting new people, none of which are a silver-bullet, but all valuable. Combine your efforts on these five and you will acquire new friends in no time.
Join Facebook Groups
There are more then a dozen Facebook groups in Tamarindo, with names like: garage sale, chitchat, and book club, to name a few. These groups are just a starting place, but people will start recognizing your name if you participate. Apply these rules when posting: easy on the humor, high on the helpful info, and keep contributions short.
Find Faith-based organizations
There are a number of religious and spiritual outlets in Tamarindo and the surrounding area. There are two churches in Tamarindo, and AA meets in both Tamarindo and Playa Brasilito if you are looking for recovery support. Also yoga classes, which are too many to list, are fertile soil for finding meditation groups.
Attend the Tamarindo Feria
Most people just call this “The Farmer’s Market,” but you might call it “The Weekly Social.” Even if you don’t have something to sell or buy you should attend. Introduce yourself to the vendors who are more than happy to tell you about their product and story. You won’t be the only one who is just hanging around talking to people.
Have Children
Okay, so not everyone has this option, but it’s worth mentioning. Parents have a just-add-water outlet for meeting new people. Nobody understands your life better than another parent. The reality is parents have an edge when it comes to meeting new people.
Be a Surfer
Similar to the previous tip, this is an area where you can get an edge meeting people. Of course surfing isn't for everyone. That said, when opportunity provides to meet people, there’s nobody a surfer would rather talk to than another surfer. The break doesn’t have to be a lonely place.
Final thought: take it easy, whatever you do. Many new expats tend to get swept up in the adventure of their new life. It can be overwhelming in many ways. Here’s a good rule of thumb from Moon’s book on living in Costa Rica: If you wouldn’t do it back home, don’t do it here.
The expats who have been living abroad for more than a year do know what you are going through. For better or worse, they’ll keep an eye on you. They’ll even help you if you ask for it, but if they seem somewhat distant, don’t take it personally. They’re just making sure you’re gonna stick around for more than a few months. You’ll eventually be the same.
Come see our Pinterest page about this!
Here is a rundown of five easy tactics for meeting new people, none of which are a silver-bullet, but all valuable. Combine your efforts on these five and you will acquire new friends in no time.
Join Facebook Groups
There are more then a dozen Facebook groups in Tamarindo, with names like: garage sale, chitchat, and book club, to name a few. These groups are just a starting place, but people will start recognizing your name if you participate. Apply these rules when posting: easy on the humor, high on the helpful info, and keep contributions short.
Find Faith-based organizations
There are a number of religious and spiritual outlets in Tamarindo and the surrounding area. There are two churches in Tamarindo, and AA meets in both Tamarindo and Playa Brasilito if you are looking for recovery support. Also yoga classes, which are too many to list, are fertile soil for finding meditation groups.
Attend the Tamarindo Feria
Most people just call this “The Farmer’s Market,” but you might call it “The Weekly Social.” Even if you don’t have something to sell or buy you should attend. Introduce yourself to the vendors who are more than happy to tell you about their product and story. You won’t be the only one who is just hanging around talking to people.
Have Children
Okay, so not everyone has this option, but it’s worth mentioning. Parents have a just-add-water outlet for meeting new people. Nobody understands your life better than another parent. The reality is parents have an edge when it comes to meeting new people.
Be a Surfer
Similar to the previous tip, this is an area where you can get an edge meeting people. Of course surfing isn't for everyone. That said, when opportunity provides to meet people, there’s nobody a surfer would rather talk to than another surfer. The break doesn’t have to be a lonely place.
Final thought: take it easy, whatever you do. Many new expats tend to get swept up in the adventure of their new life. It can be overwhelming in many ways. Here’s a good rule of thumb from Moon’s book on living in Costa Rica: If you wouldn’t do it back home, don’t do it here.
The expats who have been living abroad for more than a year do know what you are going through. For better or worse, they’ll keep an eye on you. They’ll even help you if you ask for it, but if they seem somewhat distant, don’t take it personally. They’re just making sure you’re gonna stick around for more than a few months. You’ll eventually be the same.
Come see our Pinterest page about this!
