How to Meet People in Da Nang: An Expat’s Guide to Making Friends
Best Beach City in Asia; How to get connected in Da Nang
Whether you have been an expat for years or this is your first time leaving home it can be a challenge to navigate a new community. If you are coming for a short time or a long time depends on how involved you want to be. Andrew and I are making Da Nang our home and have found a community within months. Sometimes I find it easier to be connected as an expat because we all have something in common. Far from home.
Best Activities for Expats
1. Play Pickleball
This is how I made my first friends here! I joined a Whatsapp group for beginners and started playing the week we arrived. You can also download an app called RECLUB and find games that way. I haven’t used it for anything else personally but it has all kinds of sports you can choose from. Some pickleball courts even offer socials where you pay a flat rate, as opposed to splitting the court with you and the other players. Its about 50k (2USD) for about 2 hours of pickleball. You can’t go wrong!
3. Game Nights
Da Nang is the perfect place to nerd out and play board games. Lots of cafes and restaurants have board games. There is a Whatsapp group (Board Games in Da Nang) as well so you can just join a group that's playing or ask in the chat for people to meet you somewhere. Also there is a Cafe called REALITY that hosts an all night board game night. It starts at 7 and can go as late as 2am.
5. Co-Working Spaces
Co-working space are an ideal way to join groups that are both professional and social. You would think with all the work going on it would be difficult or awkward to meet people but actually the co-working spaces host and facilitate a lot of events so it's a wonderful place to connect. I do pilates on the second floor of a co-working cafe every week. Some coordinate beach days and they usually offer coffee and sometimes they have a full menu!
Be on the look out for our article on the best cafes in Da Nang. Coming soon!
7. Nomad Table
Attention solo travelers! This is a great app you can use anywhere, not just Da Nang. Once you download the app and create a profile, you can create your own activity or join someone else's. Think platonic dating app. Verify yourself on Instagram (optional) and choose some interests for your public profile. Currently people are connecting for yoga, going to Marble Mountain and grabbing drinks. It's way more convenient than a generic Facebook post and it's good for the introvert and the extrovert travelera alike.
I consider myself fortunate that I can walk home from a class and see someone who was performing at an open mic and start chatting about when the next events are. Or I can head to the market and see pickleball friends. For me personally it feels a bit like my life living in a small town, saying hi to friends and acquaintances while going about my day. However, that didn’t happen without effort. Luckily here in Da Nang you can dive into a myriad of events, groups and activities that can give you that small town vibe. I will share what has worked well for us and what surprisingly did not.
2. Volunteer at Paws
Paws for Compassion is the number one animal rescue in Da Nang and they offer consistent volunteer opportunities. You can work at the dog house, cat house or volunteer by fundraising. They do a lot of great work in the community and when I found two abandoned kittens who were in bad shape someone came by that night to rescue them. You will meet locals and expats alike volunteering at PAWS. They can be reached by Facebook messenger.
4. English Club
Because I am an English teacher here I started a free English Club. And it has been a great way to meet new people. Some events are difficult to really talk to people but that's the whole point of English club so you can really get to know people. If you are a native speaker it's great to help non-native speakers learn and gain confidence in English. If you speak a language other than English it's a great way to connect and learn! We have lots of Russian, Vietnamese and Korean attendees. Definitely come say hi at Speak-Easy English Club! I can be reached on my Instagram - EasyEnglishwithHannah
6. Facebook
Facebook has its pros and cons and one of its pros are the events. You can find dance workshops, spiritual events, meetups, open mic nights, trivia, truly anything. Some people even post in expat groups “Looking for friends” people get connected that way. Overall it's a great way to find that initial event. I will issue a warning that some of the groups have a lot of spam, drama, and odd characters so general posting is sometimes more trouble. When I lived in a small city in Korea we had no such problems but Da Nang is big and many people come and go and feel the need to overshare or criticize. Find your events and meet your buddies there and you will steer clear of the drama.
Getting connected in Da Nang - Final thoughts
You have so many options to become a part of the community here. I say try a few things! See what works for you. The unfortunate part about this lifestyle is that many people come and go and its sad to keep losing friends so if you plan on staying a while be prepared for that by meeting other long term folks and local friends :)
8. Fulfill a Dream
Da Nang feels more like the land of opportunity than any other place I have lived or traveled. Have you always wanted to start a writing club? You can here. Want to learn to sing, you can find someone to give you lessons at an affordable price. Perhaps you have wanted to dabble in stand-up comedy, I saw people try that out for the first time here. I have always wanted to learn self defense and plan on starting Jujitsu soon.