Relocating to a different city in the same country can be difficult enough and presents many new challenges, migrating to a new country is on another level again. Maybe new migrants don’t speak the same language or understand the culture, need to find housing, jobs and new friends?
In this post, we’ll cover some top ways that new migrants can feel more at home in Australia sooner rather than later.
#1 – Make New Friends As Soon As Possible
New migrants will often gravitate towards people from their own culture, so upon arriving in Australia, migrants may seek out an area to live where there are people from their mother country.
This is one sure way for migrants to make new friends in their newly-adopted country, but it’s also important to make other local connections and friendships as well.
Friends are not only people to have a chat with or socialise with. New local friends can also help migrants learn their way around the area, understand the Australian culture and way of life, and possibly even help a new migrant find employment or housing.
#2 – Have Regular Contact With People Back Home
Everyone gets homesick and it’ll be no different for people migrating to Australia from another country. That’s why it’s important to maintain regular contact with friends and relatives back in the home country.
This doesn’t always have to be expensive phone calls. It can be done through video chat on Facebook Messenger or Skype, or simply just sending messages back and forth through any one of the text messenger apps available for smartphones, tablets and computers.
#3 – Adult Migrant English Program – AMEP
AMEP is a program that teaches new migrants the basics of the English language. The ‘Adult Migrant English Program’ allows eligible participants up to 510 hours of English tuition. An Australian Government initiative, the AMEP program is virtually essential if new migrants want to quickly assimilate into the Australian way of life.
Having a firm grasp of English not only makes it way easier to communicate in general, but it’ll open the doors to gainful employment, expanding social circles, making new friends and contributing to the local community.
Learning is flexible and can be slotted in with your schedule.
#4 – Explore Your New Surroundings
Nothing makes a person feel more at home in a new area than being familiar with the place. The best way to achieve this is to get out there on foot and simply explore your new surroundings. The reason walking is far more effective is because of the slowness of it.
Flying by places in a car won’t help a newcomer learn much about the place at all, but taking regular strolls to different parts of the town is a good way to discover where everything is located and even meet new people on the way.
An even better idea is to explore the area with a local, as they’ll be able to shortcut the learning curve because they’re already familiar with where everything is.
#5 – Finding a Job Can Change Everything
Not only will getting a job means a regular income and feeling like life has a purpose, but it’s also one of the easiest ways to make new friends and acquaintances, get a better grasp on the language and the vernacular of Australians, and feel less alone in your new country.
Regular work offers many positive benefits besides money and there’s nothing quite like being employed to make a migrant feel more comfortable and at home within their new community.
#6 – Joining Social Clubs Can Open New Doors
Australia has social clubs for just about every sport, hobby or interest group. It’s yet another avenue to make some new friends, gain valuable contacts who could prove helpful in many different ways, and also as a way to simply get out and have some fun.
Meetup is a great website to locate some social clubs in your town or city.
The Wrap
There you have it, 6 great ways for new migrants to feel more at home in Australia in quick time. For more ideas, simply search online for other great content on the topic, or chat to other migrants who have been in the country for a while for some first-hand advice.
2018 ·