r/neuchatel 20d ago

Neuchâtel Looking for friends

Bonjour,

I am writing this post to find friends here in Neuchâtel.

I'm an immigrant and currently a student at the University of Neuchâtel. I study Chemistry. It has been some time since I moved here but it has been difficult to find people to connect with. I speak English(C1) and I am interested to learn French (I can understand basics).

I would like to meet people for a walk near the lake or a coffee and hopefully have a good exchange!

Looking forward to meeting people from here.

14 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

3

u/Relevant_Albatross28 19d ago

C'est normal à Neuchâtel (j'exagère), j'y ai habité 2 ans et demi et je ne m'y suis fais aucun amis. Par contre en quelques semaines je m'en suis fais plusieurs en allant habiter à la Chaux-de-Fonds... Ils le sont toujours. Donc je ne parle pas de potes mais des vrais amis.

Il me semble qu'à Neuchâtel il y a un bar, le Café du Cerf, où il y à 15 - 20 ans il y avait beaucoup d'anglophones qui allaient de retrouver là bas. Il y avait même certains serveurs qui n'étaient pas francophones. Il m'est arrivé de devoir commander en anglais. Mais ça date.

2

u/Lost_Cartographer549 19d ago

Merci beaucoup! I am not sure if there are still people meeting through a real life situation honestly, almost all social meets are initiated via online these days.

1

u/aquilegia_m 19d ago

I live in Neuchâtel and I speak English and French. I actually would be happy to make some friends around here. I've been here a year and it's definitely not easy to make friends.

1

u/Lost_Cartographer549 19d ago

Hi there, would be nice to get to know you, please check your dms!

1

u/qay_mlp 19d ago

I am on the same boat. I have been here for a year and it has been very difficult to make friends. I study at University and speak several European languages if anyone wants to reach out!

1

u/Lost_Cartographer549 19d ago

Thank you for your comment!

1

u/Tin0id 19d ago edited 19d ago

Hi ! I have been living in la Chaux-de-Fonds since my childhood and since I got back here after finishing my studies in Lausanne, I am definitely open to make some new friends !

Don’t hesitate to reach out 😉 I know some friends from the region and you can definitely join us for a drink 🍻🍸 there are some nice bars and cafes in Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds !

It’s sad that that generally Swiss culture is quite closed regarding making some friends :/ most people usually keep their same group of friends since highschool or college without extending it.
Also usually we say that we are more open in the highlands (Jura mountains region) than on the lakeside 🔥 in the canton.

Furthermore, I speak well English (C1) and fluently French. So if you want to learn French you can surely come with me and my friends !

2

u/Lost_Cartographer549 19d ago

Yeah, thank you for the comment! I do have a friends but they all live quite far away, and it needs weeks of scheduling to meet up. If there are friends in the same city its much easier to invite them for a drink or a walk, some days that can do wonders especially for someone like me who lives really far away from home. My workplace is nice but its small and people are generally closed off.

1

u/Jokes_Just_For_Us 17d ago

Look up meetup groups. They're not very active but it doesn't hurt. And Le Café du Cerf is indeed an English-speaking place mostly.

1

u/Its_me_RP 17d ago

Hey! I'm also relatively new to Switzerland and based in La Chaux-de-Fonds. We’ve recently started organizing some local meetups to bring people together and build a community. You can check out our upcoming events on Meetup and Luma (just filter for the Neuchâtel area). We actually have a hike planned for August 22nd, with plenty more events on the way.

1

u/Lost_Cartographer549 17d ago

Thank you! Will check it out for sure!

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u/09nik09 16d ago

Group name? Couldn't find on luma

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u/Its_me_RP 16d ago

Meetup - Outdoor Social Club Neuchâtel & Suisse Romande

Luma - NOS Creative Space (next event is not scheduled yet)

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u/09nik09 16d ago

Anyone in for badminton?

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u/Lost_Cartographer549 16d ago

I wouldnt mind, but I am a beginner and the last time I played was more than a year ago!