As an expat, it's harder than in a country where you master unspoken social rules. I know this from experience. I believe your best bet is to meet other people

As an expat, it's harder than in a country where you master unspoken social rules. I know this from experience. I believe your best bet is to meet other people lost in translation, and especially expats. Ideally not all from your native country: often, such circles (people from country X trying to make themselves an enjoyable life in country Y) tend to encourage their members to bitch on country Y, and that's not the path to happiness. Internet should help you find people. If you have hobbies, it helps having a common ground to build upon. About kids, lovers and family: it's quite difficult to share a social life between single people, engaged people and people with kids. If the bond preexists a divergence of lifestyles, it can survive, but each of these lifestyles come with hard-to-reconcile constraints. Finally, if you can pass the IQ test, Mensa is a nice community of too-smart-for-their-own-good people, looking for meaningful and intellectually engaging bonds.