This blog was written by Eugenia Pascual-Gil, a freedom-based business mentor, who joined The Outsiders when she moved to Edinburgh.
Moving to a new city as an adult is exciting, but it can also be lonely.
You arrive with good intentions. You tell yourself you’ll say yes to things, meet new people, and build a life. But once the boxes are unpacked and the novelty fades, you realise how much of ‘home’ is actually made up of people, routines, and shared moments, not just a postcode.
What brought me to Edinburgh?
I moved to Edinburgh after several years living and working in London, and before that, Spain where I’m originally from. Like many people who relocate, I came for a mix of reasons: lifestyle, nature, a slower pace, and a sense that this chapter of my life needed something different.
After feeling trapped in the corporate rat race in London, it was time for a change.
Thanks to starting my own business, my long-held dream of moving back to Scotland finally became a reality. What I didn’t realise at the time was how much I was craving connection. Not forced networking or surface level small talk but something real.
Discovering The Outsiders…
I first discovered The Outsiders through connecting with Lezanne on LinkedIn. She recommended that I come along to one of the outings, the first being a trip to Cramond Island. It was a meet-up focused on getting outside, moving, and meeting people in a way that felt human and low-pressure. I was a little nervous at first, so I brought my partner along with me. But after that first meet-up, I quickly realised there was nothing to be nervous about.
From then on, we kept coming sometimes together, sometimes on my own. I loved that the meet-ups were monthly, which made them easy to commit to and something to genuinely look forward to.
Building friendships and feeling at home
Being part of The Outsiders has played a huge role in helping me feel settled in the city. It gave me a consistent place to show up, familiar faces I began to recognise, and eventually friendships that extended beyond the walks themselves.
It helped turn Edinburgh from a beautiful place I just moved to into somewhere I truly belonged. Along the way, I also discovered incredible spots in nature that I never would have found on my own.
When you’re new to a city, community doesn’t appear overnight but it’s built through repeated, small moments. The Outsiders created the space for those moments to happen naturally.
Experiencing kindness, fun, and gentle ambition
What I appreciate most about the group is how these values show up quietly but consistently. Kindness looks like people being genuinely inclusive and curious about one another.
Fun looks like laughter, movement, and not taking life too seriously. Gentle ambition looks like being surrounded by people who care about growth but not at the expense of connection, wellbeing, or joy. There’s no pressure to prove yourself. Just encouragement to be yourself.
If you’re new to the city or you’ve been here a while but still feel like something’s missing, I’d say this: You don’t need to have it all figured out before you show up. You don’t need to be outgoing, confident, or ‘good at meeting people’. You just need to take one small step.
Joining a community like The Outsiders isn’t about changing who you are. It’s about giving yourself the chance to be seen, to connect, and to slowly build a sense of home – one walk, one conversation, one shared moment at a time.
Sometimes, belonging starts with simply showing up 💜
Leave a Reply