New to Singapore and Trying to Build a Routine (and a Friend Group)? Read This.
- Dopamine Movement
- Aug 12
- 5 min read
Moving to Singapore is exhilarating for about three weeks. Then the novelty settles, the work routine kicks in, and two quieter problems surface at the same time: you don't have a fitness routine anymore, and you don't really have anyone to spend time with.
Here's the thing most relocation guides miss — those are the same problem, and they have the same solution.
Why building a routine feels harder here than it should
You had a system back home. A gym you knew, a class you liked, maybe friends you trained with. Then you moved, and all of it reset to zero at once.
Now you're in a new city, working long CBD hours, decision-fatigued, and every fitness option is unfamiliar. So the routine keeps not happening. You tell yourself you'll "settle in first," but settling in is exactly the thing a routine helps with. It's a loop, and it's incredibly common among newcomers.
The way out isn't willpower. It's picking one anchor — a single recurring commitment on your calendar — and letting everything else build around it.
Why making friends as an adult here is genuinely hard
Let's not pretend otherwise. Making friends as an adult in a new country is one of the harder parts of relocating. The advice you'll read everywhere — join Meetup, download the expat Facebook groups, go to a mixer — isn't wrong, but it misses why it so often doesn't work.
The mistake most newcomers make is chasing first impressions: attend one event, meet ten people, exchange numbers, then wonder why nothing develops. The people who actually build a social circle here understand something different:
Friendship in a new city is built through repetition, not charisma. Seeing the same people regularly creates familiarity. Familiarity creates comfort. Comfort creates connection. That's why a one-off networking night rarely leads anywhere, but a recurring weekly activity quietly turns strangers into friends over a month or two.
Which is exactly why fitness studios, running clubs, and small group classes come up again and again as the top way expats build community here. It's not the workout. It's the same faces, every week.
Why a small studio solves both problems at once
Put those two truths together and the answer is almost obvious. You need one recurring commitment that gives you both a routine and repeated exposure to the same people. A small group fitness studio is close to the ideal version of that.
Here's why it works better than a big-box gym for a newcomer:
Same faces, same times. A boutique studio has a regular crowd who book the same classes. Go twice a week and within a month you'll recognise people, they'll recognise you, and the small talk starts writing itself. That's the repetition that actually builds friendships.
The activity fills the silence. The hardest part of meeting new people is the "so, what do you do?" energy of networking. In a class, the workout does the talking. You bond over surviving the same brutal set, not over forced conversation.
It's a fixed anchor on your calendar. A booked class you've committed to is a routine you'll actually keep — far more than "I'll go to the gym sometime this week," which is how nothing gets done.
Small means welcoming. A big commercial gym is anonymous by design. A small studio, where the instructor knows your name and asks how your week was, is a much softer landing when you don't know anyone in the country yet.
It's genuinely mixed. Studios near the CBD draw both locals and fellow newcomers — other people who, like you, are looking to build a routine and a circle. You're not the only one starting from scratch. Nobody is, really.
Choosing the right one as a newcomer
A few honest filters worth applying when you pick your anchor:
Location beats everything. The class you'll actually attend is the one that's on your way home from work or a short walk from the office. If it's convenient, you'll go. If it's a trek, you won't, no matter how good it is. For CBD workers, something in Raffles Place or the surrounding area is gold.
Small over huge. You want a place where the same people show up and the instructor learns your name — that's where community forms.
A format you'll come back to. Beginner-friendly matters. If class one leaves you feeling capable rather than crushed, you'll book class two. That's the whole ballgame.
A trial before you commit. Try before you buy. Any studio worth joining will let you.
An anchor in the heart of the CBD
If you work anywhere near Raffles Place, Dopamine Movement at 15 Phillip Street is about as convenient an anchor as it gets — infrared-heated sculpt classes a short walk from most CBD towers, small enough that you'll see the same faces, welcoming enough that you won't feel like the new person for long.
The classes are beginner-friendly by design (light BALA weights, guided from start to finish), so class one leaves you wanting class two rather than swearing off exercise forever. And because it's the same regular crowd, twice a week quietly turns into "oh, you're here too" — which is how a friend group actually starts in a new city.
You came here for the adventure. Build the routine, and the people, that make it stick.
FAQ
What's the best way to make friends as an expat in Singapore? Through repetition, not one-off events. Recurring weekly activities — fitness studios, running clubs, group classes — work best because seeing the same people regularly builds the familiarity that turns into friendship. One-off mixers rarely lead anywhere.
How do I build a fitness routine after moving to Singapore? Pick one recurring commitment — ideally a booked class near your home or office — and build around it. A fixed, convenient anchor on your calendar is far more sustainable than a vague plan to "go to the gym sometime."
Are there good fitness studios near Raffles Place / the CBD? Yes. Dopamine Movement at 15 Phillip Street offers infrared-heated sculpt classes in the heart of the CBD — convenient for most office towers, beginner-friendly, and small enough to build a regular community.
Is a boutique studio better than a big gym for newcomers? For meeting people, usually yes. Small studios have a regular crowd and a personal atmosphere where the instructor knows your name — far more conducive to building a routine and a social circle than an anonymous big-box gym.
I'm a total beginner — will I feel out of place? No. Beginner-friendly studios are used to newcomers, and near the CBD you'll be training alongside plenty of other people who are also new to the city and starting fresh. Everyone begins somewhere.
Looking for your anchor in Singapore? Book a trial at Dopamine Movement, 15 Phillip Street, Raffles Place — a routine and a room full of familiar faces, in the middle of the CBD.
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