“I’m going on Erasmus… but I don’t know anyone yet”

You got accepted for Erasmus. Your destination is set, your room is arranged, and your flight is booked. On paper, everything is coming together.

And yet there is this one thought that keeps coming back.

I’m going on Erasmus… but I don’t know anyone yet.

It is a strange feeling. You are about to move to a new city, maybe even a new country, and start what is supposed to be one of the best experiences of your life. At the same time, you have no idea who you will spend your days with. No familiar faces. No one to text when you arrive. No one to sit next to during your first class.

Most students feel this, even if they do not say it out loud.

We often imagine that Erasmus is one big social adventure where friendships just happen naturally. You arrive, you join some activities, and suddenly you have your group. That is the expectation. But reality is usually a bit more random.

The first weeks are busy and overwhelming. There are introductions, practical arrangements, and a constant flow of new people. Everyone is open, but also searching. In that chaos, friendships often depend on timing and coincidence. Who you happen to meet first. Who you sit next to. Who you run into at an event.

That can work out well. But it can also leave you feeling like you are always slightly on the outside, trying to catch up.

What many students do not realize is that the social part of Erasmus does not have to start on arrival. It can start much earlier.

Before you leave, there are already hundreds of students going to the same city as you. Many of them feel exactly the same. They are also wondering who they will meet, who they will connect with, and whether they will find their people.

Reaching out before you arrive can make a big difference. Even a few simple conversations can change how those first days feel. Instead of walking into a completely unknown environment, you arrive with a few names, a few chats, maybe even a plan to grab coffee.

That sense of familiarity matters more than you might think.

It is not about building your entire friend group in advance. It is about lowering the threshold. Making the first step a little less intimidating. Turning strangers into at least somewhat familiar faces.

There are different ways to do this. You can join group chats for your destination, connect through your university, or look for platforms where students share their plans and interests. The important part is not how you do it, but that you do something.

Even sending a message to two or three people can already change your experience.

At Studinty, we see this every year. Students who connect before they arrive often feel more confident and more at ease from day one. Not because everything is suddenly perfect, but because they are not starting from zero.

Erasmus will still be unpredictable. You will still meet new people, try new things, and figure things out along the way. That is part of what makes it special.

But starting with nothing is not a requirement.

You do not have to leave something as important as friendship entirely up to chance.

So if you find yourself thinking, I’m going on Erasmus… but I don’t know anyone yet, know that you are not the only one.

And also know that you can already change that, before you even get on the plane.