Dealing with loneliness in Mexico

Priscilla wrote:

Hello,

Expatriation can be a fun and exciting adventure, but it can also be a bit lonely at times. Please share with us some tips for dealing with loneliness.

What are some potential factors that lead to loneliness when moving to Mexico?

How do you deal with feelings of loneliness?

Is it easy to expand or create a social network in Mexico?

Are there any activities or events that encourage social meet ups and networking opportunities?

Thank you for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

There are a number of things you can do, depending on your needs and comfort zone.

Learning the language would be at the top of that list. Yes, some people speak a little English and some are fluent. The fluent number is lower than you would think. Comprehension is a major factor there.  This is speaking as someone who just spent 2 days communicating in both languages to try to hammer out a car insurance policy. They realize you are not a Mexicano and they start sprinkling English into the conversation. That's actually quite common.

The other thing you can do is plant yourself into an expat community with people like yourself and hope they speak some Spanish. If there were a disaster I would worry about that.

There is no getting away from getting out there and assimilating into the culture in some way. People, for the most part, will not come knocking on your door. I say for the most part because there have been two men who saw me and decided to knock on my door. That tends not to go well.

Neighbors are a good starting point. community areas festivals, restaurants, shopping, etc. Just study the language and get out there.

Well, go for a walk.  Be aware of others eye contact and a recognition smile.  That is a potential invitation to pursue the next move.  You won´t be lonely for very long, however, be very cautious that you are not falling into some form of trap.  Maybe it would be better to join a club or group, learn a language, play a sport.  That is a much better way to beat being alone and have fun as well.

Loneliness? I have to laugh. I have never been as busy in my life since I moved to Lake Chapala. How did I ever have time for work?
Over 80 registered organizations, probably another 40+ unregistered ones, Lake Chapala Society, etc will keep you busy no matter what your age or what language you speak. There is something here for everyone. 
There is also a online site called Meetup.com in Mexico that regularly publishes 'Meetup Groups' in your area and the subject matter of the groups vary widely from hiking and kayaking to tech groups and bingo.
Add to that, the fact the with the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Facetime, forums (like this one and local) etc,  we are all connected so closely it doesn't really matter anymore where you live.  Who has time to be lonely?

That is excellent news.  Thanks for sharing.  Good to know of the connected network there.

Hi,
yeah, learning the language would be rule one, afterwards you will start to know people and pretty much pump into the ones who would be curious and eager to know about where you come from and how has it been for you in Mexico, in some cases people might be busy or live far away and the long distances won´t help your dilemma -  literally that would be the case in mexico City-, meeting people is not that difficult and you just need to be selective about it and find ones you feel comfortable around, but i would say that cultural differences can play a big role mostly to the positive side but sometimes it might be overwhelming especially for an outsider,

i would say get yourself out there and try to meet people in some class or course of mutual interest, be a bit careful but not paranoid.

finally maybe its good that you find people whom you can speak your native language with and share cultural traits, but don´t spend all your time with them, molding with people might ease it for you a lot.

Peace