One of the hardest things about moving anywhere is making new friends. I have several good friends in London and several in Sweden but none where I will be initially moving to.
Making friends is something that has always been easy for me; most I have met through local bars or through football etc. But this time will be a very different scenario; I can’t really just walk into a bar and start talking to random strangers. Firstly it’s a totally different country, secondly they will probably think I am strange and finally they will think “Weird British Guy…”
So I think the best thing I can do to start with is find a group of friends who will have something in common with me. I recall I was in a bar in Stockholm in 2008 watching the Chelsea vs Man Utd game. It was a small bar in the Old Town and the game was being shown to around 30 people. Unlike a bar in London the atmosphere was quite subdued, when both teams scored there was little in the way of cheering which I found a little strange. Then towards the end around twenty more people came in and started singing Chelsea songs which made me smile, we also won the game.
So in the months before I move I’m calling all Swedish Chelsea fans to make yourself known. I need to find a bar where I am surrounded by Blue and where I can watch a game without being nervous about cheering on my team. But more importantly it will be a wonderful way to make new friends.
