I realise this is the kind of question that will elicit completely different answers depending on each person personal situation, but anyway, I am curious to hear about other people’s stories.
I have been living in the UK for nearly eight years and I can’t say I have one really close friend who is British, and this is despite being very well integrated here (my partner is English).
I’ve heard endless experiences from other expats that are similar to mine, where most if not all their closest friends are other expats. This could be just a London thing, simply because of the amount of foreigners here. Also I am in my mid fourties, so establishing meaningful relationships is simply harder (no offense, but I am not that interested about hearing how you, a 20 something, has plenty of British friends).
I am not asking how to make friends, thank you, I can figure out that joining a club or volunteering or whatever is a great way. I am mostly curious to hear from others if this is a common experience.
I think all capital cities have such a high amount of people who moved there that it’s hard to meet any locals. I befriended more locals staying in small places in New Zealand than I did in capital cities like Amsterdam or Bangkok. I did know some locals in both capitals, but I had a much higher amount of expat friends. If you stayed in a smaller place, you’d be more likely to integrate with the locals. I’m 40 and stay in Inverness, North Scotland. I have a few expats as friends and I’ve been told it’s friendlier here compared to larger cities.