Do everything once

🇫🇷 27 communities (& counting) you should know about as an international in Paris

Finding your community while living abroad can take a lot of time and effort, especially if there are language and cultural nuances to understand or if your purpose for being abroad doesn’t give you a lot of free time to immerse yourself in the way you’d like. Even worse, once you meet great people, they leave. 😭

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. (Dr. Seuss)

I’ve been living in France for 5+ years and despite making great friends in Paris, I still find it difficult to build the community I’m looking for.

So how do you find your people?

I wouldn’t describe myself as particularly adventurous. I’m very attached to my routines and structure in my daily life, but the one thing I’ve adopted is the mental note to

do everything once.

If I’m remotely interested I’ll show up at least once to experience something new firsthand. I don’t allow myself to:

• make excuses (meeting new people can be exhausting)

• make assumptions (that I won’t like something or it’s “not for me”)

• or stay too anchored in my comfort zone (I’m a true homebody; Netflix and chill with my cat sounds so appealing some days)

Exploring Paris is a lot of fun and I love my solo adventures just as much as the opportunity to meet new people. Breaking my routine means staying inspired creatively and professionally.

A list of the communities/apps I’ve experimented to find like-minded people in Paris in recent years:

(updated November 4, 2024) (in order of participation)

👩‍💻 Professional 🌍 Diasporic 🦋 Social 🎨 Creative 👟 Sporty 💪 Engaged 🥘 Foodie ❤️ Wellness

👩‍💻 Professional

1. Shapr 👩‍💻
   This used to be a French version of LinkedIn meets Bumble Bizz for meeting entrepreneurs and founders. They’ve pivoted and they’re now a recruiting tool. I didn’t have much luck with this app.

2. Elpha 👩‍💻
   An international professional community for women in tech. They host occasional Paris meetups. The organizers are lovely and welcoming.

3. Lunchclub 👩‍💻
   Meet people from all over the world for lunch dates. AI-powered speed networking / professional matchmaking. I’ve met a couple of interesting people but not the best algorithm for relevant matches.

4. ADPList 👩‍💻
   Free mentorship from a global database of tech, marketing, and design professionals. I have met so many great mentors and it’s an amazing way to crowdsource feedback for creative and professional projects. An amazing resource.

5. Women in Product 👩‍💻
   An international chapter organization to support women working in product (management, design, data, etc.) A great group of motivated professionals, all happy to share their advice and thoughts on industry best practices. Events and mixers in both French and English.

6. CMX Connect Paris 👩‍💻
   CMX is a global organization supporting community professionals and community builders. I’m the Paris Chapter Lead and we host mixers and panel events to support career development and gather community pros.

🌍 Diasporic

1. Expats of Color in Paris France 🌍
   One of my first questions when traveling is always waatbp (where are all the black people). I’ve met some of my first friends in Paris from this Facebook group.

2. Omek 🌍
   A community for professionals of the African diaspora. Based in Amsterdam, they host regular events and networking opportunities. There are also virtual events. I’m a fan of their regular Writer’s Hour.

🦋 Social

1. Bumble BFF 🦋
   Endless conversations that lead nowhere. I did meet a few great friends though, so pretty hit or miss. It’s now a standalone app from Bumble, the dating app.

2. Apéro Frenchies 🦋
   Love the concept. Networking mixers in elevated locations, access to young professionals and expats.

3. Groove 👩‍💻🦋
   I’d forgotten about this one! It's a late entry, but a tool I used post-pandemic circa 2022 to connect with other remote workers across the globe. Think of it as an accountability group session for social connection or just to work in a peaceful community. A nice concept.

4. The Breakfast 🦋
   I’m a ✨morning person✨ so this app is perfect for me. It’s subscription based and the idea is to meet new people over breakfast. Not a date, not networking, just breakfast. I really enjoyed this one. Will revisit!

5. Anyone 👩‍💻🦋
   Love the concept of this app but the tech simply doesn’t work. I couldn’t get as far as creating a profile without the app crashing. Hopefully, they work it out. Interesting idea for a social app.

6. Carom 🦋
   Also a subscription-based app. Meet people by hosting and joining events based on your interests. Love this approach and have met some cool people.

7. SESSIONS 🦋
   Such a fun concept! You arrive and choose from a selection of social topics to discuss with other attendees. You’re encouraged to switch tables, grab a drink, and enjoy lively conversation. Bilingual event (but largely francophone crowd).

🎨 Creative

1. The Paris Photography Meetup Group 🎨
   Went through a photogirl phase. They’re a consistent and tightly-knit group of friendly creatives. Their events feel more like field trips. Good vibes.

2. Creative Expats 🎨
   Love the idea but it’s quite decentralized. Once you connect with the organizers I’m sure you can find your way but no idea what’s happening at any given time.

3. Creative Expats Writing 🎨
   In my writergirl era. Joined this group when I was looking to connect with other writers. A lovely group of people. They’re a subgroup of Creative Expats and they may not be as active in 2024.

4. Sofarsounds 🎨
   LOVE live music. Sounds from a room are international pop-up concerts. Every event is a surprise from the artists to the venue. Highly recommend.

5. Locked In
   🎨
   A Substack community for people of color. They host regular writing sessions for people to write in silence and then connect and share with others. A great group! I try to attend Monday sessions.

👟 Sporty

1. French Bootcamp 👟
   I need gym classes because they hold me accountable but during the COVID years (and every August) my gym shut down. These outdoor bootcamps (cardio + HIIT) are for all levels, it’s free, and the organizers are friendly and consistent.

2. Founders Running Club 👟
   Saturday morning meetups for 5k runs followed by a coffee chat with Paris founders, entrepreneurs, and professionals. The organizers are lovely and will wait for slow people (that’s me!). Rdv at Jardin d'Acclimatation.

💪 Engaged

1. Safe Place 💪
   Safe Place hosts intersectional feminist conversations and workshops at La Montgolfière in the 10th. Quality lineup of speakers and engaging societal topics. En français.

🥘 Foodie

1. Timeleft 🦋 🥘
   I’m sure you’ve heard of this one. Their advertising game is unmatched. Dinner with strangers in Paris (the app is in cities all over the world). I loved my dinner and I met a diverse and genuine group of people.

2. Hungry Expats in Paris 🦋 🥘
   If you want to eat your way through Paris this Facebook group has regular meetups. I went to an Indian restaurant with a cool group of people. There are regulars and newcomers, all are welcome.

3. The Embassy 🦋 🥘
   A curated invite-only dinner for Paris-based professionals with nonlinear career paths. Organized by Jeffrey Paul Coleman and Meera Sanghvi. Lovely experience meeting and conversing with a small and intimate group of people.

❤️ Wellness

1. Sunflower Club Circles ❤️
   Free regular discussion groups organized by therapist, Namora Lubis. There are women-only, men-only, LGBT, and PoC groups to share and connect with others.

2. Sad Girls Club ❤️
   A U.S. nonprofit promoting mental health and wellness for millennial and Gen Z womxn. Chat Room provides free regular discussion groups with a variety of different therapists.
   

That’s all for now. There are more on my list that I’ll add here once I try them out.

Are there any communities or apps you’ve tried/would recommend?

Comment and share below 👇🏾