bvlenci

Staying in an apartment is not the best way to have any contact with anyone, besides your travel companions. At least in a hotel, you'll have some conversations with the staff, and you'll have a chance to meet people in the hotel breakfast room or at the bar.

sparkchaser

My trip to Germany last month had me sitting in a local's home eating home made oatmeal cookies and talking about Steam games. Never mind that they were our next door neighbors when we lived there. They're locals now.

simpsonc510

Some of my nicest friends are the "locals" I've met in my many trips to Europe, S E Asia and Australia. We re-connect every time I'm in their country! It makes my visits special.

NewbE

<Staying in an apartment is not the best way to have any contact with anyone>
bvlenci, I think you're exactly right about this. We stay in house/condo rentals at the beach and find the privacy absolute and exactly what we want.

danon

"Staying in an apartment is not the best way to have any contact with anyone, besides your travel companions. At least in a hotel, you'll have some conversations with the staff, and you'll have a chance to meet people in the hotel breakfast room or at the bar."

We like apts. because of the space they offer...we eat out and occasionally shop for
orange juice but in no way we " live like the locals" - never had to call a plumber!
I find hotel staff tends to switch to English( except in small towns in Spain)
and I cannot say I have much interest in meeting other tourists in the hotel breakfast room.

fuzz bucket makes some good points, but if people wish to believe they live like the locals
because they are staying in a small apt . in a European city, that is fine.
It is their holiday!

menachem

I always meet locals in synagogues. And these are often community hubs as well, which I need, because I need to find out where to buy and eat kosher, and whether the eruv is up and where I can get shabbat meals if I'm in a hotel. Usually I will be asked to someone's home for the shabbat midday meal on saturday, I'll be welcomed, called to read torah even, that sort of thing. That kind of hospitality never ceases to amaze me, like the time I evidently party crashed a bar mitzvah in Paris, only to be invited to the party after.

if you are heavily involved is a personal pastime, be it religious or otherwise, it's always a good idea to seek out congregations of like-minded people.

you'll have a shared interest to bond over and that is often the best way in to a local community. in my case it's "being jewish", but suppose you're heavily into weaving or beekeeping: there are always meetings where people would be thrilled to receive you, if you do a bit of research and introduce yourself to the social group of your choice.

going out with local cycling groups, or swimming in the local pool had much the same effect for me. instant contact with a bunch of interesting and friendly people I wouldn't have met otherwise.

swandav2000

Well, I've met the locals while staying in an apartment in Paris . . but it was because of a plumbing problem! I got to meet the downstairs neighbor and his son for 3 nights in a row while managers and plumbers diagnosed and fixed the problem; we got to conversing a bit.

I also got to converse a bit with a man while waiting outside for a post office to open, also in Paris.

I think another opportunity to meet folks comes when you take public transportation, whether waiting at a city/town bus stop or while on a long-distance train.

s

Jay_G

Some very interesting points and points of view in this thread.

I never travel with the expressed intent of meeting locals, but it's something that happens wherever I go and it doesn't matter if I'm staying in a hotel, apartment or yurt. This has been true for me throughout Europe and the U.S. (and points elsewhere) and hasn't necessitated making a special effort to do so.

I think that a fair bit of it comes down to age and going out and enjoying a drink or three on a night out in a pub or bar. I've met many people this way, some of whom I'm still in touch with (via the double-edged sword of social media) and have met up with on return trips and others I've never seen again.

And it also works the other way. You don't have to spend too long drinking in a pub in central London of an evening before you're striking up a conversation with people at the next table, who are often tourists.

I recently met a young and just married couple from Chicago on their honeymoon whilst out drinking with a friend in Soho. We spent a large portion of the evening together talking about Europe and the U.S., giving suggestions of where to visit in London and Paris (their next stop) bought each other drinks and ended up being joined at the table by an ex-sex worker who was half way through transitioning to a complete woman (her words) when we started talking (clearly too loudly) about how Soho used to be.

My friend and I went away saying that the couple got a true London experience and would doubtless have a story to tell when they got back home. For me, that's meeting locals, not trying to recreate something that only exists on Pinterest mood boards or in Woody Allen films.

Trying not to be too indelicate, I think that as the number of candles on your birthday cake increases, it gets harder and harder to do this. As people (in the main) gravitate to others within a similar age range and similar interests, going out and chatting to people (from what I can gather from this thread) takes special planning and organisation, whereas when you're a bit less long in the tooth, all it takes is a couple of pints, an interjection into an overhead conversation, a friendly smile and you're away.

Whathello

I'm going to meet locals right now at a restaurant close to work, with my boss.

I can choose between a Chinese one, with waiters barely speaking french - but definitely they are locals, and a lot of them ! or a Tunesian one - also local, maybe he got french nationality (but at least he is frenchspeaking), or Indian (they are Pakistanis actually, better to talk in english with them).

My boss is now French (phew), the former one was German, living in France.

Sometimes it is difficult to live like a local and meet locals ;-)

sparkchaser

Hehehehe

I am surrounded by locals. Escaping the locals is my problem!

danon

Whathello, lol
I often have a bit of difficulty communicating with some of the locals in our
city populated with immigrants from around the world.( I am one of them!)

kelly324

I'm Irish, and my Mother always told me that I never met a stranger, so I always end up talking to people. An open smile and politeness eases the way as well.

I for one, would NOT like to live as a local, as that would require me working!! Which I am so not interested in doing! LOL. While I understand the appeal of renting an apartment, it is just to have a kitchen and more room, for me.

Just being able to have a "snapshot" chat with a local while browsing a vegetable stand is enough of a thrill for me. And, the last time I was in Paris, 2 years ago, everyone was exceedingly polite and friendly, so I think a snapshot chat (great word StCirq!!) with locals is definitely possible.

Whathello

I went to a nice restaurant close to les folies bergere, and met an English man living in Canada. He is retired and we spent a nice moment chatting.
He thanked me - me too, I had a nice meal - and he added it was super nice that I spoke to him in French, albeit hesitant french - everybody speaks english to him !
Yet he speaks very good french.
A win-win

suze

Peg, You'd have a better chance than many IF you did want to meet some locals since you speak German.

Being an English-only speaker narrows down my "meeting" anyone to a slim possibility.

Nikki

I understand that guy whathello met at the restaurant. I always want to talk to people in French so I can practice, and they want to speak to me in English for the same reason.

Dukey1

TTT

fitmachine

> Being an English-only speaker narrows down my "meeting" anyone to a slim possibility.

I think saying it's a "slim possibility" is overstating it. Most Germans speak fairly good English. Really it seems that most people in most of the countries of Europe speak at least some English. Of course if you do speak their language, that sure does help.

I think my main motivation for travelling is often seeing the sites and architecture and all that, but often the little interactions with locals and people from other countries is what ends up influencing me the most.

NewbE

Living in Germany, I did not find that most Germans speak fairly good English. Most Germans speak a few words of English that they remember from high school, and are not confident about it. Through friends I met Germans who spoke very good English indeed, but with my lousy German I couldn't count on meeting such people at random.

Whathello

I agree with NewbE on German speaking English - and it is the same in France. You go to the big cities you find people sepaking english fairly well. You go to small ones and want tot talk to locals... they haven't used their english since high school.
I had a colleague who got injured in a remote area in Germany. Was brought to a hospital - nobody spoke English ! Her colleague found a doctor who was italian and they could use that language to communicate. Easy : doc asking in italian, friend translating into french, colleague answering, friend translating, doctor translating to staff in german.
Even my brother never speaks english - never. Must be quite rusted.

sparkchaser

My experience was similar to NewbE's. My colleagues were all more or less fluent but outside the office it was a crap shoot as to who could (or would be willing to) speak English. Let's face it: the education track that is going to send kids into apprenticeships or working in a grocery store isn't going to focus too much on English.

It was fine though because it just ended up being an incentive to learn German.