Moving on makes you grow in many ways. Thanks to it, you will acquire another skill, namely to feel at home, being a thousand kilometers away from it. How to tame unfamiliar space and get used to it? How not to be alone among the people you do not know yet? How not to be discouraged on strange streets? There are ways.

1. Make friends with the bartender at your favorite bar

The bartender’s friends always feel cool. These guys don’t need to wait for his precious attention: they are poured first, and sometimes even free of charge. When you are a friend of the bartender, you are cool. When you’re cool, it’s easier to make friends. Enjoy the popularity!

2. Be a regular somewhere

It’s nice if it’s “somewhere” near your work or your house. Why do you have to do this? First of all, after a while, you will be recognized, greeted a little more friendly and served with great zeal. It’s nice. Secondly, you will be asked, “As always?” by bringing a menu, and it will help you feel at home. When you come somewhere where you are warmly welcomed, where you know everything, but you like it no less, the feeling is simply wonderful. Even if you’re a stranger in a strange city, it’ll make it easier for you to join in.

3. Makeup two weekly traditions and don’t give up on them

Cafes and restaurants come to mind again. For example, you know that sushi place near your home that has discounts every day: when you buy a set of rolls, you get another one for free. Very well, determine for yourself the day of the week when you will eat these rolls. Or another option: on Saturday morning, always go to the morning sessions in the nearest cinema. Suitable for those who wake up at the weekend at half past ten, and this is its upper limit. Tickets for the session in the morning are still very cheap. What else can be suitable? Laser tag, bowling or billiards with friends – if you have them. If not, at least keep the walk in the park.

4. Make friends with all the neighborhood animals

If someone’s dog likes you, its owner will pay attention to you and remember you. This way you will start to be friends not only with the dogs but also with their owners: you will have a reason to start a conversation with them, you will see them regularly on the street because you live next door, and then, most probably, exchange numbers and visit each other.

5. Keep in touch with anyone you don’t want to lose contact with

Don’t be too lazy to communicate. It doesn’t require much effort from you. People will visit you more often, and you will visit them more often in return. You will be calling, and you will also be called. You will write, and you will be answered. Paradoxically, people used to have fewer ways to communicate, but they managed to call back and see each other more often than we do now with all these social networks, Skype, cell phones and anything else. Don’t reduce all communication to just likes and repost. Invite people to visit, take walks, go to the cinema, go to a cafe, go to a bar – and they will agree.

6. Be a tourist in the city where you live

See monuments, memorial complexes, museums, parks and other places of interest. Try not to lose sight of it. You will immediately feel smarter and more local.

7. Now and then, just drive around town and think

Both the bicycle and the car are suitable for this purpose – in public transport, perhaps, it will not be the same anymore. Why do we have to do this? You’ll discover new ways and streets, find new bars, clubs, antique cafes and any other places – maybe even the ones you won’t even guess about. These thought-provoking rides are a great way to get rid of stress and tension. Breathe. Look at the road. Think.

8. Keep an eye on the local elections.

Even if you don’t have citizenship and you can’t vote. This way, you will know what the city is like, what its problems and needs are, and how it feels. Study every candidate, google them. When you keep up with all the city topics, you start to understand better not only the geography of the city but also its social structure and economy.

9. Make sure you have “your” people

“Your” car service. “Your” hairdresser. “Your” dentist. Make sure you have the person who will constantly recommend you what to check and visit in your city. Make sure you have a person whose stories you are ready to listen any time of the day. Show them your family photos. Talk about yourself. All this will come in handy for you.

10. Talk to strangers

When a woman of middle age speaks to you in the bus, pull out the headphones, listen to her, react, but take your time to put the earpiece back in. Hear her out over and over again. This can be interesting! At least you’ll enjoy the process: no one knows, and you’re a stranger – as if you have a secret that no one even knows about. Knock on your neighbors’ door to ask them for an electrician’s number or a plumber’s number, and at the same time give them a chocolate bar – just for fun, out of the kindness of your heart; at the same time, you’ll tell them you’ve moved recently. Getting to know your neighbors is a great tradition, don’t forget it.