About
The club we’d want on day one.
Updated October 2026
Moving to a new country, you can sort almost everything on a checklist: the visa, the flat, the bank account, the SIM card. The one thing nobody hands you is a social life. The Expat Club is being built to fix that.
It tends to go like this. The logistics come together, the boxes get unpacked, and then it’s a Saturday and you realise you don’t know anyone. Making real friends as an adult in a new city is hard, and it’s the part that decides whether a move feels like an adventure or a long stretch of takeaways for one.
We’re building the community for internationals in South Africa, starting in Cape Town in January 2027, then Johannesburg and Durban around mid 2027. Not a faceless database. Not a mega-mixer where you clutch a warm drink and read name tags. Small, warm, well-run evenings, built for people making this move, and designed from the ground up so you leave with names in your phone you’ll text.
What we are and what we’re not
What we’re not
- Cold networking & sales pitches
- 200-person name-tag scrums
- A faceless app that just bills your card
- Auto-renewal traps you can’t escape
What we are
- Small groups, planned so you click
- A regular calendar, from January 2027
- Built to be hosted by members, locals and internationals alike
- Cancel-anytime membership
Built to be run by its members
The plan is for The Expat Club to be run by the people who live it, internationals and locals in each city, hosting the kind of evenings they’d want to be invited to. As the community grows, members will become hosts: someone who loves trail running could start the running group; someone who cooks could start a supper club. That’s the whole idea: a community that belongs to its members, not a company that performs at them.
How it works
Join the community and, from January 2027, come to events: socials, newcomers’ welcomes, and interest groups from hikes to padel to founders’ breakfasts. Everyone will be welcome to buy a guest ticket; members will simply pay less and get first access. Messaging works today: anyone with a free profile and a confirmed email can message other members before they’ve even arrived in the country. One fair price, locked for as long as you stay.
Moving soon and need practical help as well? Our introductions service connects you with one named person for visas, housing, movers or schools, free to you.
Want the basics on one page? Read the key facts about The Expat Club: who runs it, where it operates and how to contact us.
Thinking about Mauritius instead, or as well? Our sister site has a free guide to moving to Mauritius from South Africa: permits, tax, costs and where people settle.
A fair deal, in writing
We’re putting it in writing: your founding price is locked in, you can cancel in one tap, and we’ll even remind you before anything renews. No surprises, ever. Belonging shouldn’t come with fine print.
Questions, ideas, or want to help host? hello@expatclub.co.za