Making friends in a different country can be a challenge. Especially if you are not a student. Making friends as a working professional is already hard enough in your home country but living in a foreign country amplifies that difficulty. First of all, if you don’t speak the local language, this limits the pool of people that you are able to befriend to the ones who speak your language. This is why many expats tend to clump together with people from their own culture. This however, can be challenging. Usually, the people who you end up spending time with are people who you would never be friends with back home. They may not have many shared interests other than the fact that you share the same culture. But beggars can’t be choosy. Even if they won’t be your best friends, it is still a breath of fresh air to occasionally go out for a coffee and have small talk with someone in your native tongue.
I know many expats who I have seen are very lonely and they have given up on finding friends because it takes too much effort. I empathize with them and know how hard it is. I understand how it is to not be fully understood by friends in a different culture who don’t quite get your jokes or understand your cultural references.
I would like to encourage you to not give up. I know it is a lot of effort. Try to find groups, clubs or activities that you enjoy and see if you can join people already doing something that you love to do. It could be a sport, a hobby like going to movies or knitting or some other interest like science fiction or a book club. Language exchanges are also a great way to meet people. Sometimes working towards a common goal can bring people together so if there are any volunteering opportunities where you can work with others on a project that matters can be a great way to connect. If you can, learn the language to open up the pool of possible friends you can meet.
