Sunday, January 20, 2008

Back to reality with a bump

Now that everything is unpacked and I have begun to find my feet in the new office (although, luckily, not a new job), I have found that I am in a similar situation to seven years ago: starting over again in a new country and knowing very few people.

Alright, this time I am here because I came with someone, but he has been in Copenhagen for the past three years and many of the people he knew here have come and gone.

So I just need to get out there and meet people; hence, this weekend's main activity of searching for social groups here in Stockholm and signing up for any and everything that seemed even slightly interesting. Back in Copenhagen, the only one that I stuck with was one for young women that had attracted me with its regular cafe evenings and cocktail nights. The majority I have found for Stockholm, however, fall into two categories: business networking, or serious expat organisations with committees and annual membership fees.

Here are some that I have found:
English Speaking Community Club: a social and cultural organisation that has a couple of events coming up soon. (200kr annual membership fee.)
Eurocircle: a number of European networking groups in a large number of cities. I am not sure how active the Stockholm group is though...
Expat Contact: four expat groups (Paris, Los Angeles, Milan and Stockholm) for professionals aged 21 to 45. Another that might or might not be active.
International Friends of Stockholm: a forum for discussions on topics such as issues when moving to Sweden, out and about in the city, meeting up, resources, and tips on learning Swedish. (Registration required.)
Lost in Sweden: Another forum with similar topics but also a debate forum. A couple of the topics can be viewed by visitors, but the rest require registration.
Swedish-British Society: A cultural society founded in 1919. Has a Youth Section for 18 to 35 year olds. (250kr annual membership fee, plus a 100kr joining fee for new members.)

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