Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do you seek out your own while abroad or in your new home country? Why or why not?
I was just thinking about this, and I'm not sure I would if were abroad. I mean, I would seek out people with general shared values (agnostic vegetarians in my case) and interests (outdoors/photography), but not really anyone based on my national origin. Perhaps this depends on what country you come from, but our values in the states varied so much and we have so many subcultures, that I wouldn't assume I shared anything in common with any random American I met abroad.
Do you seek out your own while abroad or in your new home country? Why or why not?
I was just thinking about this, and I'm not sure I would if were abroad. I mean, I would seek out people with general shared values (agnostic vegetarians in my case) and interests (outdoors/photography), but not really anyone based on my national origin. Perhaps this depends on what country you come from, but our values in the states varied so much and we have so many subcultures, that I wouldn't assume I shared anything in common with any random American I met abroad.
On some level one wants to absorb everything in the new country and that includes interacts with the local people. On the other hand, sometimes one looks for others that speak the same language as themselves especially in a country where you don't speak well the local language.
It really depends on the culture of the country that I am going to. If it is similar then I don't really, but if it is foreign like Spain or Africa then of course I will be seeking out British people.
During my time abroad (not long enough to be called an expat, not short enough to consider myself a mere tourist), I didn't really care were people were from as long as it was fun to hang out with them. It probably helps that there aren't that many Austrians living abroad to begin with.
Not particularly, almost all my friends while living in England were North American, their was no particular reason for this, it's just the way it happened.
My wife deliberately avoided other Koreans when she moved to Australia, she though it was the best way to teach herself English. It's only now 10 years later she is actively trying to associate with the local Korean community, we think it would be good for our daughter.
I am from a small paisa town in Colombia (paisa is an ethnic group in Colombia, they live in the region where Medellin is located, they are mixed but mostly descendants of Basque and Jewish settlers)....
With that in mind I always hated living there, though I miss my friends, family, people around me I don't miss small town living, everyone around you is paisa and being homogeneous is kinda boring, though I miss the innocence of the people.
I left because I wanted to see the world, I lived-in Japan for six months and then in Germany, Morocco and now Belgium, I also lived in the US (I have done much more things than all my friends and cousins back home) they're married and happy but I have world experience.
I don't actively seek out other Puerto Ricans. Tbh, I hate hanging around most other Hispanics, especially since the vast majority are ghetto and I'm not. Hard to be a middle class latino when most are working class. Just doesn't fit for me. So, ALL of my friends are Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. Most Puerto Ricans in PA, I don't consider to be Puerto Rican anyway, they were all born and raised here and are very different from me, it's rare to find other islanders around here, they are more likely to be more like me
Even if I'm just walking down the street and I hear someone talk with a British accent I'm half tempted to start a conversation with them just because I miss talking with Brits, but I never do because I'm too shy. I'd join expat groups though if I lived somewhere that had any, but sadly I don't and there's only one other Brit in this town that I know of.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.