How to Make Friends in Hobart (Expat Guide)

Hobart is the smallest capital city in Australia and that is the whole story of its social life. About 250,000 people live in Greater Hobart, which means you will see the same faces at the market, the same people on the waterfront and the same crowd at the pub within a month.

For some people that is claustrophobic. For most new arrivals it is a gift, because small cities are the only places where you can genuinely become a regular in a few weeks.

How Hobart Works Socially

Three things define it. The mountain and the river: locals walk, run, sail, row and swim, and outdoor clubs are the main social engine. The festival calendar: Dark Mofo in winter and the Taste of Tasmania around New Year pull the whole city into the same few weeks. And the size: there is no anonymous crowd to hide in, so you have to show up.

Winter matters. Hobart is the second-driest capital but it is cool and changeable, and the social scene moves indoors from May to September. Plan for that and you will be fine. Arrive expecting beach weather and you will spend four months indoors on your own.

The Groups From My Ebook

These are the groups from my ebook that work in Hobart. Most are national, which is useful because they keep working when you move to Melbourne or Brisbane.

• Cold Nips cold water dips and swims, and in Tasmania this is a year-round hobby rather than a summer one
• Croissant Run Club 30 locations worldwide and all over Australia
• Australia Social meet-ups and social events
• Australia Backpacker Guide the big backpacker Facebook group, where a lot of Hobart hostel rooms and harvest jobs get posted
• Run clubs around Australia a directory of clubs you can turn up to
• Travel Gals Social Club meet-ups and trips for women travelling or living in Australia

For Hobart-specific groups, search Facebook for "Hobart backpackers", "Hobart expats" and "Hobart social". The city is small enough that the local groups are genuine communities rather than noticeboards.

Where to Meet People in Hobart

Outdoor Clubs

Hobart's walking, running, rowing, sailing, climbing and cycling clubs are the social backbone of the city. The Hobart walking clubs run regular day walks on kunanyi and further afield, and a walk is a five-hour conversation with people you have just met. That is how friendships happen here.

Salamanca and the Waterfront

Salamanca Market on a Saturday is the city's weekly meeting point, and the waterfront is where everyone ends up afterwards. Go weekly rather than once and you will start recognising people.

Volunteering at Festivals

Dark Mofo in June and the Taste of Tasmania around New Year both run on volunteers. You get a roster, a team and a reason to be in the middle of the city's biggest weeks. Apply early, because places go fast.

Work

Hobart's economy runs on hospitality, tourism, healthcare, education and the public service, plus seasonal harvest work in the surrounding valleys. Workplaces are small and social here, and a shift drink turns into a plan quickly.

A Realistic First Month

Join the national groups before you land, book accommodation within walking distance of the waterfront or North Hobart, and pick one weekly thing: a run club, a market visit, a club training night. In a city this size, one weekly commitment is enough to be known within a month.

The Honest Bit

Hobart is not a city where you will disappear into a crowd, and if you need a big anonymous nightlife you will be disappointed. It is also colder, quieter and further from everywhere than most of Australia. What you get instead is a social life that is easy to enter, cheap to maintain and full of people who actually do things outdoors.

My Australia friends guide covers every state, my Tasmania travel guide covers the rest of the island, and my Hobart things to do guide has the days out worth planning around.