Moving to Ecuador means leaving one's family and friends behind. Creating a circle of friends or joining an existing one should therefore be paramount in order to fight loneliness in your host country.
In my opinion, developing a social network in a country one migrates to is important with or without family. Then again people are different and have different mentalities and goals, but from my perspective it would be isolationist if one doesn鈥檛 develop a social network, especially with locals, in a country they intend to call home. This is actually frowned upon in some societies and some countries actually have assimilation programs where foreigners are systematically assimilated into society.听
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But how can one develop a social network in Ecuador?
Some people are employed and that鈥檚 the traditional route but other than that I believe there are a number of ways one can achieve a social network here. The key of course is to be friendly and social with people. There鈥檚 the purely expat route, and one can make contacts at expat hangouts and also groups and events that expat partake in. I rarely hangout at such places but when I do, making contact is quite easy at least with the expats I met because it鈥檚 evident they want to expand their social network as well.听 It鈥檚 just a flawless experience conversation wise and I think that鈥檚 the magnet.听 And you鈥檙e absolutely right about loneliness; I met a nice gringa who all but admitted to me that she was lonely and longing to go to Europe after her studies. This is an attractive young woman who speaks Spanish and has so much going for her. And as surprising as her loneliness was, some people for whatever reason simply don鈥檛 or can鈥檛 fit in. It鈥檚 worth stating that as important as a social network is, an intimate relationship trumps that, and I鈥檓 basing this on people I talk to. This is of course an opinion and generalization because some people are quite fine being alone.
The other route which is social networking with locals I鈥檒l go into that in the local鈥檚 question.
Where and how to meet people there?
As I previously mentioned there鈥檚 the expat places if you鈥檙e not comfortable meeting locals.听 With locals in general you can start in your neighborhood beginning with your neighbors. If there鈥榮 mutual interest it shouldn鈥檛 be too difficult to make contact, but of course you have to get beyond the greeting.
If you frequent a place in your neighborhood like a caf茅, start with the staff, then with time you will start to see the same faces of customers and then it鈥檚 about initiation. If you鈥檙e an extrovert it definitely helps, but above all, be presentable, kind and humble to people and the locals will like you.听 If you鈥檙e afraid to interact with people you鈥檙e not going to get anywhere.听 So if your Achilles Heel is Spanish then learn it.听 听
How easy is it to meet locals?
The first Ecuadorian I made contact with was before I even landed in Ecuador. I met him on the flight here and he gave me some tips and contact information. A couple of weeks later I needed a reference and called him up and he said no problem. He doesn鈥檛 live here but through him I met another friend who was very helpful during the first couple of months here. Another Ecuadorean friend I met was when I had an issue with my mobile number. I wasn鈥檛 receiving international texts, and went to customer service. This dude did not speak one word of English and while waiting to get sorted out we had a casual conversation which I understood the gist of which led to exchanging whatsapp which led to me being in his social circle that consists of a fun and interesting group of people.听 Meeting these Ecuadoreans was effortless. In my opinion, if you present yourself properly and by that I mean being socially apt, confident and respectful, Ecuadorians will be receptive and even initiate contact.听 听
What about cultural specificities?
If we look beyond the culture, and it鈥檚 much less so in Quito, then you will realize that the similarities between you and the locals is much greater than the differences.听 At the end of the day people are all the same. I understand it鈥檚 difficult for some people to grasp that whether they're expats or locals because their minds have been instilled with biases and prejudices but nonetheless it鈥檚 a manufactured barrier that one can overcome if they try.
