Friendships: slow to start, often long-lasting

Making local friends is one of the most frequently reported difficulties for people who move to Germany:

• In the InterNations Expat Insider 2026 survey, 57% of expats in Germany said making local friends is not easy (40% globally), 41% said their friends are mostly other expats, and 42% found locals friendly towards foreign residents (61% globally). Germany ranked 28th of 31 destinations for ease of settling in. This is a self-selected online survey, so treat it as a signal rather than a precise measure.
• Work rarely becomes the shortcut. Cultural-competence trainer Christina Röttgers, quoted by deutschland.de, notes that colleagues in Germany tend to keep job and private life separate, so many newcomers have little chance of building private contacts through work.
• Reserved at first, loyal later. An international student writing for the DAAD describes Germans as seeming reserved at first, but warm, helpful and loyal friends once the ice is broken; friendships take time but are often deep and long-lasting. A US-born communication trainer quoted by deutschland.de (2026) uses the familiar image of a coconut: a hard shell that is worth breaking through.

Much social life runs through structured, recurring activities rather than spontaneous mingling.

• Clubs and associations (Vereine): deutschland.de reported in 2021 that Germany has over 620,000 clubs with more than 50 million members, covering everything from football to urban art and yoga. The federal migration office's welcome brochure explicitly encourages newcomers to join club life and volunteering, noting that millions of people in Germany volunteer.
• Regular get-togethers (Stammtisch): deutschland.de points out that almost all large cities have a "New in …" regulars' table for newcomers, and that neighbourhood platforms are another way to meet people nearby.
• Home is for people you already know. According to the same article, people who are already acquainted or friends often meet at home, so an invitation to someone's flat is usually a sign that the relationship has moved on.
• Language matters. In Expat Insider 2026, 49% of expats in Germany said it is difficult to get by without German (34% globally). Even basic German widens the circle of people you can comfortably spend time with.

• Region and person: experiences differ widely. One Italian respondent in Hamburg told Expat Insider 2026 that in the north it is difficult to establish long-term friendships, while other newcomers settle in quickly. An intercultural coach quoted by deutschland.de (2026) stresses that the setting (city or countryside, sector, workplace) matters more than any "typical German".
• International cities: in places with large international communities, such as Berlin, it is easy to build a circle of other newcomers quickly. That is valuable support, but it can also mean meeting fewer locals; the 41% figure above shows how common this is.
• Life stage: deutschland.de notes that many people get to know each other at work or university, and often through clubs; clubs and volunteering are open to you at any age, whatever your job situation.