Kooch
Join community

Where a new city becomes yours.

Kooch is a community where newcomers and locals in the Netherlands meet — over dinners, singles nights, city walks and Nowruz bazaars — and turn the awkwardness of a new place into real friendships.

90,000+ members · 50+ gatherings a month
★★★★★ "It's the first place I felt at home."
Singles Gathering
APRIL · AMSTERDAM
Singles Gathering
Your next crush might be here
48 going
Connect with purpose
Connect with purpose
Nowruz Bazaar
MAR 21
Nowruz Bazaar
S
Sara · Level 3
Utrecht · 12 events attended
🔥 12
+40 XP · CITY WALK UNLOCKED
Impact, so far

Small numbers,
huge moments.

We started in 2023 with a podcast and a dinner table. Today, we're a growing community of newcomers and Dutch locals building integration into something joyful together.

0+
Members & growing
newcomers + locals, side by side
0+
Gatherings
Cultural, networking, social walks
0
Nationalities
represented across our community
0
Dutch cities
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and growing
0.0★
Event rating
out of 5, across all gatherings
0
Partner orgs
NGOs, law firms & language schools
After 6 months
What our members report back.
0%
Made 3+ real friends
0%
Resolved a legal question
🎙️ The Kooch Podcast · Ep. 001
Nazanin, founder
"The podcast that became a community."
Our story

Started with a microphone. Became a community.

Nazanin Mirsharifi had moved countries more than once. She started Kooch as a podcast — honest conversations about starting over, across cultures and generations.

Listeners wrote in from every corner of the Netherlands. They didn't need more information. They needed each other. So Nazanin set a table, and Kooch became a place.

Kooch (کوچ) — not as a crisis, but as a journey, together.

🎙️
2023
Podcast launches. Listeners across the Netherlands write in.
🍽️
2024
First dinner in Utrecht. 18 guests from 6 countries.
⚖️
2025
Lawyer matcher + Dutch language school partnership launch.
The rhythms of Kooch

A calendar of reasons
to show up.

Every month Kooch hosts around 40 gatherings — from big cultural bazaars to tiny pastry crawls. Come to one, come to all. It's not a checklist, it's the fabric of how the community grows.

ROUNDUP · MONTHLY DROP
July Events
Amsterdam & Rotterdam
🗓️
How old is your body, actually?
How old is your body, actually?
Fri 17 Jul
Join →
SOCIAL · POP-UP
Pastry & Coffee Crawl
De Pijp · Saturday morning
🥐
SOCIAL · POP-UP
Pastry & Coffee Crawl
De Pijp · Saturday morning
🥐
ARCHIVE · ARCHIVE
Past Events
Browse what you missed
📸
Nowruz Bazaar
Nowruz Bazaar
Persian New Year, open to all
City Walks
City Walks
Led by locals & newcomers
Iranian Dinner
Iranian Dinner
Persian food, all welcome
Free for members
Core gatherings are always free. Members RSVP a week ahead.
Open to everyone
Newcomers, Dutch locals, expats, students — one guest list.
Any language goes
Most nights slide between EN, NL, Farsi, Arabic, Ukrainian.
You can host too
Bring your idea; we provide the venue, budget and crowd.
How it works

Four steps from arrival to .belonging.

01

Tell us who you are

Newcomer or local — we just need to know what kind of journey you're on and what you'd love to experience.

⎯ 2 minutes
02

Get matched

Within a week: a lawyer, a Dutch class, or your next dinner. Based on who you are, not a checklist.

⎯ Within 7 days
03

Show up & earn XP

Every gathering you join, every form you fill, every Dutch word you learn — your integration journey levels up.

⎯ Ongoing
04

Pass it on

One day, someone will message you at 11pm asking how to open a bank account. That's how Kooch keeps working.

⎯ When ready
✦ Integration Journey · In development

Integration,
but make it a game.

Bureaucracy is a boss battle. Learning Dutch is a skill tree. Making friends is a co-op mission. Kooch is building the first gamified integration journey — where every small win, from your first BSN to your first gezellig, is earned, celebrated and shared.

⚡
XP for every step
Forms, classes, gatherings
🏅
Unlock badges
Solo or with friends
🔥
Keep your streak
Show up, level up
🗺️
Your own roadmap
Your pace, your path
S
Sara Aboud
LVL 3
Utrecht · Newcomer since 2024
🔥 12 day streak
378 XPLVL 4 at 600 XP
Your next quests
3 / 6 done
✅
Come to one Kooch dinner
+40
✅
Attend a conversation club
+30
✅
Join a city walk
+25
🤝
Bring a friend to singles night
ACTIVE
+25
🎭
RSVP a creative night
+30
🏡
Host your first dinner
+80
Badges earned
🎉
🗺️
🧑‍🍳
📚
🌉
🌱
⭐
🏆
+40 XP just now! 🎉
Partners & friends

Integration works when we
work together.

🗣️
Featured partnership

Kooch × Hi Dutch Classes

We've partnered with Hi Dutch Classes — one of the Netherlands' most-loved language schools — to give every Kooch member 40% off group classes and free translation support for community appointments.

Claim discount
🗣️
Hi Dutch Classes
Language school
🖨️
Stampy
Digital partner
💻
TechMeUp
Tech education
🤝
Stichting VluchtelingenWerk
NGO
🏛️
Gemeente Utrecht
Municipality
⚖️
LOS Foundation
Legal support
Become a partner
Join Kooch

There's a door for everyone.

Whether you're arriving, welcoming, funding, or partnering — your first step is the same: say hi.

01 · Who you are
02 · What you need
03 · Confirm
What happens next

A human reads this.
Within 48 hours.

Private by default
Your message is read only by a trained coordinator — never shared with authorities.
Core services free
All community events, lawyer intakes, and Dutch conversation clubs are free.
Any language
We respond in EN, NL, FA, AR, UK, FR, DE.
Questions

Things people ask us.

Can't find your answer? Write to us at hello@letskooch.com

Kooch is a community that brings newcomers and locals together through cultural and social events. It's all about connection, belonging, and feeling at home.

No! Kooch is built on the belief that integration goes both ways. About a third of our community are Dutch locals (hosts, language partners, volunteers) who make newcomers feel at home and get as much out of it as they give.

Everyone is welcome! Our gatherings are open to anyone who enjoys meeting new people, discovering cultures, and sharing good vibes. You don't need a visa, papers, or any specific status.

کوچ✦Belonging, by design✦Kooch✦مهاجرت✦Переселення✦Hijra✦हिज़रत✦2,400+ supported✦Starting over is hard✦You are not alone✦