New York City

Expat Groups

New York City, unlike other expat enclaves, is widely spread out and doesn’t really have a particular area that is dominated by expats. Expats can be found all over the city in almost all the boroughs. As an expatriate in New York City, it is likely that you will probably at first create your network and connections through your work contacts. These contacts will then be enhanced by other connections that you make through your children’s school and other places like the gym, the recreation center or the religious institution that you frequent during your stay in New York City.

In spite of these common avenues many expats tend to believe that it is quite difficult to make friends in a huge city like New York. This is slowly changing with the advance of technology and the growing popularity of social media networks. New York City is an extremely well connected city where social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Linkend.in are used extensively to create social and business contacts.

EuroCircle

These social networking tools are now being used to create various expat-centric groups like the Eurocircle New York group which has a presence on the popular social media site Facebook.com – (http://eurocircle.com/membership/becomeamember/login.php). EuroCircle is an informal group created for European professionals and Europhiles who are married or single. The group has approximately 70,000 members in the NY Metro area. EuroCircle.com is a place where members can exchange ideas, tips, professional contacts, make friends and more. Members can meet each other offline at local group events or online through the website and forums.

Meetup.com

The Meetup.com networking site (http://www.meetup.com) is extensively used by expats in New York City to create various groups like The New York City Expat Meetup Group (http://expat.meetup.com/8/) which organizes several fun events like wine tastings, parties and luaus. The group, which was founded in 2004, has organized more than 65 events and currently has nearly 800 members.

Apart from this main expat meet up group there are a whole host of other meetup groups for expats in New York City which are classified according to nationality. Some of these are:-

• The Kiwi Club of New York (http://expatnewzealander.meetup.com/28/
• The New York City Aussie Expat Group (http://www.meetup.com/aussienyc/)
• The NYC Brit Meetup (http://www.meetup.com/NYC-British-Expats/)
• The New York Argentinians (http://www.argentinosnewyork.com/),
• The New York City Swiss Expat Meet Up Group (http://www.meetup.com/swiss-expats-nyc/)
• The New York City Singaporeans Meet Up group (http://singaporeans.meetup.com/4/)
• The New York Young Filipino Meet Up group (http://www.meetup.com/NYCYFP/)

As many as 70 Expat Meetup groups exist in New York City which organize a plethora of social and networking events for their members.

While most of these Meet up groups are classified according to nationality many others concentrate on common interests like sports, like the Live Cricket meet up group which brings together fans of the Indian Premier League – (http://www.meetup.com/Live-Cricket-New-York/) and The New York English Premier League and World Cup Meet up group which unites British soccer fans (http://www.meetup.com/engpremleague-24/).

Other groups concentrate on indigenous foods and drink like the New York Turkish Coffee Meet up group (http://www.meetup.com/turkish-coffee/) and the New York British Culture Meet up group (http://www.meetup.com/The-NYC-British-Culture-Meeup/), while still others center around common interests like ethnic music and dance like the Brazilian Music and Events Meet up group (http://capoeira.meetup.com/138/).

These meet up groups welcome both singles and couples and have events that largely concentrate on socializing.

Business and Professional Organizations

There are countless business and professional organizations in New York City which are used by members mainly for networking and exchanging ideas. Some of these groups are:

The New York City Venture Connection. The New York City Venture Connection targets young New York City venture capitalists and it organizes periodic social gatherings like cocktail receptions and happy hours to sporting events & community service and workshops.

Mediabistro (http://www.mediabistro.com/). This organization helps media professionals to connect and network at its various events and parties. It also offers a wide array of online and offline courses for its members.

SAJA (The South Asian Journalists Association – http://www.saja.org/) is a nonprofit organization which gives journalists of South Asia a platform to network and learn through its various programs. The organization also organizes an annual convention and job fair in New York City which attracts hundreds of journalists.

The South Asian Women’s Leadership Forum(http://www.southasianwomen.org/index.php) is another such organization that reaches out business professionals of South Asian origin in New York and other cities in the US while The Indus Entrepreneurs (http://www.tie.org/) has a tri-state chapter that brings together entrepreneurs and professionals who have roots in the Indus Valley region of Asia who are based in and around New York City. TIE offers year round events like workshops, seminars and networking events for its members.

The Wall Street Technology Association (http://www.wsta.org/) was set up in 1967 and this organization is a not-for-profit that focuses on technological issues for finance professionals. The WSTA offers seminars, roundtables, panel discussions, leading-edge showcases, social events and networking opportunities.

Others

The Mortgage Bankers Association of New York (http://www.mbany.org/), The New York Bankers Association (http://www.nyba.com/) The Professionals Network Organization Meetup Group (http://www.meetup.com/TPNOrg/), The American Association of Advertising Agencies, The Network of Arab American Professionals (http://www.naaponline.org/ny/) and The Network of Indian Professionals (http://newyork.netip.org/) are just some of the many business and professional organizations that offer similar educational, networking and socializing opportunities in New York City.

Private Clubs

Several elite US universities like Harvard, Yale and Princeton have private clubs in New York City which are meant largely for their alumni and other people who have associations with these universities. These clubs offer club house, guest room and fitness facilities for their members.

The Harvard Club of New York City (http://www.hcny.com/)

35 West 44th Street.

New York, NY 10036

Phone: +1212 840-6600

Fax: (212) 827-1270

Email: info@hcny.com

The Yale Club of New York City (http://www.yaleclubnyc.org/)

50 Vanderbilt Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Phone: +1 212-716-2100

The Princeton Club of New York (http://www.princetonclub.com/)

15 West 43rd Street

(between 5th and 6th Avenues)

New York, NY 10036

Phone:+1 212 596 1200

Some of the other private clubs located in New York City include the elite Soho House New York (http://www.sohohouseny.com/), based at the trendy Soho House Hotel which is located in the Meatpacking district, The Roof Club at the Gramercy Park Hotel (http://www.gramercyparkhotel.com/roof_club.html) and the Lotos Club(http://www.lotosclub.org/) which started out as a literary club which now functions as private member’s club.

Other

New York City also has several legendary private clubs which are considered to be the bastions of the uber–wealthy residents of the city, these establishments include the Metropolitan Club, the Union Club and the Knickerbocker Club. The last mentioned club is a private male only social club that is housed in a magnificent building located on East 62nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

Country Clubs

There are no country clubs in New York City per se but there many country clubs which are located in and around New York City which are frequented by New Yorkers like the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club which is located in Southhampton in Long Island and is known for its iconic club house (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinnecock_Hills_Golf_Club) and The Winged Foot Golf Club (http://www.wfgc.info/html/frameset.html) which is located in Mamaroneck in Westchester.

Community Service Organizations

New York City has a well developed non-profit sector which is made up of numerous non-profit organizations which always welcome volunteers. Some of the prominent nonprofit programs in New York City include organizations like:

• Big Brothers BigSisters of New York City (http://www.bigsnyc.org/index.php) is a program which offers mentoring services to young children who need caring adult role models.
• Safe Horizons (http://www.safehorizon.org/index.php?nav=nb) works with children and victims of domestic abuse.
• The Children’s Aid Society (http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/about) works towards the welfare of children and families in New York City.

These are but a few of the many nonprofit organizations that operate in New York City . You could use a website like (http://www.idealist.org) or visit the New York Cares website (http://www.newyorkcares.org), which list various projects to find about volunteering opportunities at a non-profit that interests you.

Other

Upwardly Global (http://www.upwardlyglobal.org/login.php) is a nonprofit organization that provides a whole host of resources for immigrants and foreigners who are looking to find a job in New York City.