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I left the Valley in the 80s and the Old Country around the turn of the century; these days I'm glad I escaped my (small-coastal-town) local optimum there.

My experience here was that the local language took ~2 years to pick up, but feeling at home with the local culture took closer to ~5 years.

At least in my neck of the woods we're still into Humboldtian Bildung, so depending upon what your interests are, you stand a good chance of being able to find like-minded communities. I met the girl I married through sports, and when I was Fresh Off the Boat, playing in various musical groups allowed me to see a fair amount of this and neighbouring countries in the company of people who helped me with the languages and cultures.

How much local exposure have you had? Are there any places you've visited which struck you as potential places to settle in?