What is a good way to find new western friends in a foreign city?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 26 Jul, 2023
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Here is what has worked for me in South Korea. Pretty sure that most of this applies also to Cebu.
For example,
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You can try to use social networks. There are certainly expat groups on Facebook. Search Expats in Cebu or Foreigners in Cebu. You can also search for more specialized groups such as French in Cebu, Expat Mums in Cebu, Hiking in Cebu…
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Meetup is an application that is used to organized events, in particular, social gatherings. You can join such a gathering to meet locals and foreigners.
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Groups on Couch Surfing organize events for travelers, expats and locals.
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You can also “hijack” some applications to fit your needs. For example, you can use language exchange applications (e.g. HelloTalk) in your own language to meet people from your country. This does not always work since they may think you are wasting their time. You can also use this to meet locals that are interested in your mother tongue; they may know some of your compatriots leaving in town and/or have stayed in your country and know your culture.
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there are certainly bars whose patrons are mostly foreigners. They usually have Facebook pages in English and organize events like concerts, trivia nights, tacos tuesdays, Halloween parties, Saint Patrick days,…
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Embassies and cultural centers organize events regularly. The French cultural center of my city have parties with wine and cheese that attract fellow Frenchies from far away.
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Look for churches/mosques/Jedi temples that have English services.
Virtually any country or city with a foreign community also has an expat forum online, and these often organize social get-togethers. I’m not familiar with the Philippines expat scene, but googling “philippines expats forum” returns a whole slew of results, and there’s at least one forum dedicated for just Cebu as well.
There is no one solution for this. Some suggestions…
- Irish pubs.
- Quiz nights.
- Walking tours.
- Hash House Harriers.
- Toastmasters.
- Internations.
- Critical Mass.
@Taladris’ answer made me realise there are more:
- Alliance Française.
- Goethe Institut.
- British Council.
Here are two more that I often check for:
- Gallery openings.
- Facebook events (with an international focus).
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘