I'm moving to Marbella in a few weeks to learn Spanish, I'm almost 19 and I was wondering how I can make friends when I move there? I'm not ruling out any nationalities eg British, I wanna make friends with anyone but also Spanish people because I'm in their country

Any tips?

Initially, you could do a language exchange order to meet Spanish people, then once you have the language its much easier to make Spanish friends, I would say it is well worth the effort, as I find that having Spanish friends changed a lot of the way I think and see things here, as does watching the TV and reading the newspapers, I have to add though, that I didn't learn overnight, and it wasn't without a lot of effort

As Concierges for the Spanish section of BE we would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Making friends at your age is relatively easy. Go into bars and chat to people. You will find that most Spanish people are friendly and willing to talk to you.

Do not know any places in Marbella tp tell you to go to but feel sure that someone on here will be along soon to give you details of the best places to visit.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

Don't know if you are male or female but if male, join a gym. They are popular with spanish youth. If female there are dance classes, lots go to sevillanas, zumba etc. you can have fun whilst meeting people.

Yes, our ex neighbours, the wife goes to zumba, spinning, the gym etc and she's the only Brit there, it has helped her Spanish enormously. I agree with Adra, it's not easy and does involve a lot of work if you seriously want to take your Spanish to a decent level. We often read of people wanting to learn Spanish, mix with the locals, but not many do seem to persevere and get to a good standard, most find it's far harder than they thought. But the OP is at a good age to get stuck in.

When we moved to Spain one of the first things I did was joined a sevillanas class. The teacher and her husband were actually from sevilla. Years later I am still in contact with two other spanish women. The other place I made friends was a quit smoking clinic in the local Ayuntamiento.

I can dance a mean sevillana!