anyone opted not to join the expat circuit?

[twiddletwaddle]

I am interested if anyone has done this and why and whether it has helped learning the local language.

twiddle 'Jimmy Hill' or 'Lippy Lion' when they said it on Grange Hill!

I've done it all ways, integrated and expat and a bit of both, and I found it each time very different and country and language dependent , but not lived in Germany.

The best way I found to meet people was to have an interest/ hobby/ volunteer post. Ironically the friendship with person I first clicked with and seemed to have a lot in common with (nationality, age background etc) faded quite quickly. Is there any opportunity to meet people via your DCs kindergarten? I made firm friends doing the monthly clean and refresh of the Daycare. What about church or local 'Green' group?

It is really hard with a language barrier, I sympathise.

A few language tips. Have the radio on as much as you can bear- no BBC Prime, preferably a talk station and watch news. Try and watch subtitled rather than dubbed TV and be an active learner- listen out for phrases and look them up. It does work (DH and I were having a text conversation in Swedish this am- very rudimentary but we only lived there for 6 months 12 years ago!)

Ah yes, "Jimmy Hill", and spin offs including "Jimmy chin chin", "Jimmy re-ckon (big emphasis on the "kon") ", "chinny chin" and "itchy chin" Where the hell did that all come from? I didnt even know who Jimmy Hill was when I was saying all these things.

Have to admit I have no local friends, although do have acquaintances (mainly through work). Most expats in HK are similar. Weirdly the language is not really the problem- most people who I would naturally meet will speak English to a good level, and are usually happy to do so. However, the cultural differences do tend to keep the expats and locals apart. e.g.

-there is a high SAHM contingent amongst expat mums (prob 50%), but nearly all local families have 2 FT earners, so opportunities to meet local mums through kids stuff is minimal. Also, there are massive differences in parenting style/expectation which I think would make mum led playdates quite challenging. Tiger mum is a stereotype, but it is grounded in quite a lot of reality.

• at work, the expats tend to want to start earlier, work through lunch and get home earlier, whereas locals tend to start later, take a leisurely lunch, but then will happily work till 9pm.

Yes I remember doing the Jimmy Hill chin thing! :) Good advice here, hope it helps