How to find a community in a new city at iQ | iQ Feel Good

So, we know community is important for your mental health – it prevents feelings of loneliness, keeps you motivated and helps you create more of the moments that matter. Now, how can you go about finding a community in a new city?  

Here’s what we came up with at our latest Feel Good Summit. 

Head to a shared space

At our summit, Pete Quinn from Student Minds shared that “kitchens are safe, communal spaces where students can eat, study and learn together or at least in the presence of others”.  

Assistant Manager at iQ East Court, Callie Lovell, adds “having the availability of our en suites encourages students to interact with people they might not have otherwise interacted with and create bonds that last a lifetime.” 

For those living in en suites at our sites, your shared kitchen is just around the corner, giving you a social hub for making solid connections with other university students. Head to your kitchen, say hello and start a chat. Someone’s got to make the first move and you might both be nervous to do it – be bold and go for it, the worst they can say is no. And once you've met your new mates, the kitchen can be a great place to meet and bond over food - it's somewhere you'll need to spend time, so why not do it togehter? 

Use the onsite spaces and join our socials 

If you live in a studio or apartment, or in an en suite and want to get even more social, head to the onsite spaces and meet more of the residents at your site. Start a conversation in the gym, ask for a game of pool in the lounge or start a jam in one of our music rooms.  

If you’re a little shy to start a conversation in our spaces, we hold regular events that can give you great conversation starters and reasons to chat to people – plus you could get some great freebies to take home with you too.  

Andrew Doodson, Operations Manager at iQ Ty Willis House shared why he thinks it’s so important to make the most of onsite spaces in smaller cities: “In Ty Willis, we've built a really good community over the last 4/5 years. In a city where it's so small, it helps to bring people together. The university there is quite exclusive in terms of halls, so we've tried to create that kind of network and support on our site. In smaller cities, it's so much more important that we do more onsite to create things for our residents.” 

Join an iQ Club 

A big part of community is shared experiences or shared interests. Our Clubs give you a ready made community filled with people who love books, gaming or food. All you have to do is sign up and you’ll get access to exclusive events and online groupchats for you to fine new mates. 

Our SupperClub is a great way to instantly connect with other people. As influencer Zaynah shared with us at our summit, “food is usually at the heart of a culture, the heart of a community...things like communal dining and group events can instantly bring people together”.  

Explore your city 

A great thing about living with iQ is that you’ll often find that the city centre is right outside your door. That means endless opportunities to find your community. Operations Manager at The Costume Store, Wilson Mendonca describe how at his iQ, “we can host tours ourselves to welcome students, especially international students.” 

Nowadays, there are plenty of events that can help you find your people and all you need to do is explore the city or look online. You can find book clubs, running clubs, walking clubs and more that are open to anyone and sometimes even free.  

The bottom line is, to find your community, you need to get involved. We send out monthly newsletters with all the latest that’s going on at our sites - read them to find out what's going on!