Whether you’ve just moved to the country or are a lifelong resident who’s looking to form new relationships, trying to make friends in New Zealand is always a noble and worthwhile goal. Seeking out friendships and making them stronger is something that, ideally, everyone should strive for in one way or another.
Sometimes just going to a bar and striking up a conversation with a stranger isn’t the easiest (or safest) way to go about making a new friend. People can be very judgemental and make assumptions on the first contact, and this does not always create positive results.
For those looking for a more focused and mutually understanding friend-finding experience, there are a few websites that can help out. The give you an idea of what’s out there, the following will list the best sites for making friends in New Zealand.
5050 Café Friends
Website: https://5050cafefriends.com
5050 Café Friends is a refreshingly equitable and straightforward way to make friends in New Zealand or any of the 5 countries it has been established in thus far. Recently becoming a popular concept in Australia, 5050 Café Friends originated in New Zealand and has been used by Kiwis for years.
What makes it unique? It’s all in the name; users go 50/50 when they meet up at a local café or coffee shop, meaning that everyone pays for their own beverage. The reason for this is simple in that it does not allow any unnecessary imbalance to affect the forming for a friendship between two people. Everything is totally equitable, and there are no obligations implied towards either party.
With this disclaimer inherent to the name of 5050 Café Friends, the site attracts people who agree to this simple meeting protocol and allows genuine, long-lasting connections to be formed. The 5050 Meeting Protocol that all users agree to ensures that users who choose to meet are both on the same page as to the nature of the encounter (such as no alcohol being consumed, and only meeting in a public place).
This allows all new friendships to start on an even keel and lets both parties be entirely equitable with one another. When users of the opposite sex meet for coffee, the 5050 Café Friends protocol ensures total gender equity, paving the way for gender equality.
It’s not just the meeting protocol of the site that makes it unique, but the way it functions as well. Users can sign up quickly by simply uploading a short vlog where they state who they are and declare their desire to be invited for coffee. While this is a quick and easy way for people to join the site, the bonus is that it adds more authenticity to the users who sign up that way, and they get a ‘5050 Verified’ badge on their profile to prove it.
This is refreshing to see, especially for those who have experienced ‘catfishing’ where the person they met up with used fake photos in their profile. When you watch someone’s vlog on 5050 café friends, you get an immediate sense of who they are and whether you want to meet up with them for coffee.
NZ Newcomers
Website: www.newcomers.co.nz
NZ Newcomers is a website built specifically around helping people who have migrated to New Zealand make friends and more easily fit into the new community they have joined. Acknowledging that many migrants have immigrated from poverty-stricken and/or war-torn countries looking for a better life, NZ Newcomers seeks to help ease the ‘culture shock’ for those entering New Zealand for the first time and help them settle in.
While finding employment and housing are chief concerns for those who migrate to New Zealand, making the country a true home is about more than just that. NZ Newcomers seeks to help those arriving in New Zealand make friends, understand the cultural quirks of the Kiwi way of life, as well as comfortably celebrate their own culture in a new setting.
People can easily join the website for free and start finding others to socialise with, whether that’s organising a tour of their local landscape or just going out for a coffee and chat. The community is made for and by those who have migrated to New Zealand, making it a place where people from many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds understand each other.
Grown Ups New Zealand
Website: www.grownups.co.nz
Grown Ups is a New Zealand website dedicated to lifestyle articles and acting as a social club, all for Kiwis over 50 years old. The site recognises that it’s important for connecting the growing group of over 50s in New Zealand and giving them both relevant articles and a forum to connect with like-minded individuals.
The website has its own ‘Find Friends’ features that allow users to find and meet up with people who have common interests. It’s free to join, and there are lots of established groups across different communities in New Zealand that users can easily join.