As Canada Day approaches, many people are getting ready to move to a new city, language and culture.
Moving to a new city can be intimidating. It can be a very lonely and isolating feeling, arriving somewhere that you’re not familiar with, without the luxury of family and friends to help and lend necessary support and comfort. For people who move to a new country altogether, perhaps with a different language and vast cultural contrasts, the change can be downright unnerving.
Thankfully, however, people can now use social media to lessen the loneliness and take steps towards building a new life – even before arriving in a new locale. Social media can be used to cultivate new relationships, both social and professional. It can also help people track down groups worth joining that share similar interests and hobbies.
Here are a few simple actions people can take, to help pave the path for adjusting to life in a new city.
- Join local groups of interest on Meetup
Meetup is an excellent resource for people to find and join groups based on shared interests, and meet in person. While Meetup has been around for a number of years, it’s surprising that more people don’t know about it. Meetup has many groups worldwide that meet in person regularly, encompassing a wide range of interests and professional themes. Before moving, sign up on Meetup and create a detailed profile of yourself - be sure to paint an accurate picture of who you are, mention that you’re excited to be moving to your new city, and share some of your likes and interests (so other people like you can search and find you). Search for people and groups based in your new city, and connect with everyone appealing to your personal and professional interests.
- Connect with people on Twitter
Twitter is great for connecting with people who share your unique interests and passions, and can be used to establish relationships online with the possibility of meeting offline when you arrive in your new city. As with Meetup, create a detailed profile of yourself. Use the search function on Twitter.com, or whichever Twitter client you use, and set up searches related your new city – such as, for example, the city’s name or perhaps arts and sports organizations you’re interested in.
Once you’re seeing the tweets of people, news and organizations in your new city, you can find ways to relate and engage in conversations with them. Respond to or re-tweet (forward) the tweets that you find most interesting. Click on the profiles of people who sent the tweets and start following them. Slowly, you will start building relationships and rapport with people located in your new city. Be open and let them know you are moving to the city; you’ll be surprised at how helpful people on Twitter are. Also, if you’re new to Twitter, be open about it: people can sometimes mistake a new Twitter account with a small following for a “bot” or spam account.
- Get the “inside track” professionally on LinkedIn
One of the original social networks, LinkedIn is now firmly established as the “professional” social network where many North American employers begin and end their candidate search. Whether or not you already have a job in your new city, leveraging LinkedIn can be very helpful in setting yourself up from a professional standpoint. Be sure to search for and join groups that are of interest – some LinkedIn groups meet in person. Unlike Twitter, connecting with people you don’t know on LinkedIn is usually frowned upon. However, you can gain valuable information on what’s happening in your profession locally by arranging for information interviews with established professionals. Start by searching for people in fields that are of interest. Rather than inviting them to connect with you, as there’s a risk they’ll decline since they don’t know you, take advantage of LinkedIn’s “InMail” feature. It’s not free, you need a Premium Account to use it, but it’s well worth the investment. Send a professionally worded and personalized message to people you’d like to connect with, requesting an information interview – state that you are new to the city, and would like to gain insights on how to best establish yourself professionally. You’ll be surprised at how helpful and friendly Twitter people are!
- Stay connected with your family, friends and culture on Facebook
Most people who are online now have profiles on Facebook. If you’re arriving in a new city with a new language as well, you can try switching your profile to the new language for a few minutes every day to practice and converse with new coworkers and friends in their language. Also, you can choose to switch your Facebook conversations, pages and instructions to your choice of 80+ languages (under Account > Account Settings) and always converse in the language that works for you.
Of course, everyday you can keep in touch with your family and friends just as frequently as before you moved – you can stay connected to them on Facebook or Twitter and Skype or Messenger to have frequent low-cost, mobile video conversations.
Follow these steps, and hopefully your transition will be an easier one.
Want to learn more? > Debbie Horovitch will be speaking to the Hong Kong Canada Business Association on July 20, 2011 about using social media to build your business in a new country: Facebook RSVP
Register online at www.hkcba.com/toronto or download the registration flyer for fax/mail.
By: Eric Buchegger, with a little bit of Debbie Horovitch
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