Remember that first day of kindergarten when making friends was as simple as sharing a crayon? Fast forward to moving abroad as an adult, and suddenly you're back to square one… except this time, your mom isn't there to give you a reassuring hug before she leaves!

In this episode of Packing Up & Peacing Out, Taylor and Lili tackle one of the biggest challenges of expat life: building meaningful friendships from scratch in a foreign country. From awkward language barriers to navigating cultural differences in social norms, we're sharing our unfiltered experiences of friend-dating abroad.

You'll hear about:

• Lili's wild story of how a potential "friend" turned into her dedicated internet troll (and the red flags she missed)

• Taylor's close call with befriending a certain type of "supporter" and Lili's similar experience

• Our honest review of expat meetups, language exchanges, apps, and sports clubs—what actually worked and what wasn’t for us

• The surprising places we found our closest friends abroad

• Timeline for turning acquaintances into genuine friends when you're starting from zero

Whether you've just landed in a new country or you're still struggling to find your people years into expat life, this episode delivers practical strategies and relatable stories to help you build the support system you need abroad.

Have your own friendship abroad story to share? DM us on Instagram @packuppeaceout we may feature it in an upcoming episode!

Follow the pod on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/packuppeaceout/ 

Follow Lili: https://www.instagram.com/arichwomansworld 

Follow Taylor: https://www.instagram.com/taylortakesprague

Tags: making friends abroad, expat friendships, building community overseas, expat loneliness, social life abroad, American expats, friend dating, immigrant friendships, international friendships, expat social groups, overcoming loneliness abroad, friendship apps for expats