Nairobi - Post Report Question and Answers
Is it easy to make friends with locals here? Are there any prejudices or any ethnic groups who might feel uncomfortable here?
Yes, somewhat. Although differences in income class and language skills can sometimes be a barrier. Kenyans are very, very (genuinely) friendly people - I think the best way to make local friends is via groups that share common interests (for example, join a hiking group with locals) or through work. There are some prejudices between ethnic groups in Kenya. There is also a tendency by some locals to view expats (especially white expats - "muzungus") as wealthy, which can lead to what started as a friendly relation turning suddenly awkward or uncomfortable when the expat is asked to give money. There are instances of some locals faking a family emergency or other crisis to try and get money from their expat contacts/acquaintances/clients. - Aug 2026
The locals here are genuinely friendly and very pleasant to interact with. It's sometimes hard to form actual friendships though, due to socioeconomic differences. I have heard that people have made local friends through their church. - Jan 2025
We have made friends with locals quite easily, but only by being intentional about getting out of the embassy bubble. The biggest factor for us has been church and the parents of our kids' school friends. We have known others who never made a local friend because they stayed so involved in just the embassy community, and I think that's a really sad missed opportunity. - Mar 2024
Local people are friendly but I didn’t find any local friends here. - Aug 2023
Pretty strict social and racial barriers. - Mar 2022
Locals don't want to be your friend. If you're LGBT, you will have a hard time. When we left, there was a growing animosity toward expats in general, especially diplomats. - Aug 2021