How large or small is the ME community in your area?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

My husband isn't here yet, but he's made it known already that he is not interested in making friends with other Moroccans. Of course, they're hard to avoid at masjid . . .

[ya falaha! 0]

This is exactly the reason why my husband doesn't associate with men his own age or younger. He prefers having friends in their late 30s/40s...responsible men with families. So many of these guys in their 20s and early 30s do nothing but party and drink. Unfortunately a few ladies here know about that first hand.

he says he's not interested in talking to other arabs

My husband agrees with yours, julianna.

We have a smallish MENA population in Minneapolis/St. Paul and my husband has made a couple of good friends. During Ramadan one year ago he was hanging out at a local Sheesha cafe playing cards and met LOTS of Moroccans, Algerians And Egyptians. He hung out with them for a while, but they weren't the best influences. Too much partying and crazy lifestyles. He has chosen to not be involved with most of them at all.

Another issue that might cause some controversy: being involved with the local Muslim population can be potentially risky in the current political climate. If you meet one nice guy, who knows who else he might know? What if your phone number ends up in the phone of someone with suspect ties?

My husband was warned by his Moroccan friends in New York (who have lived in the US for 15-20 years) to stay away from Muslims in this country. Perhaps they are just paranoid, but the Patriot Act is scary stuff. Anyone seen the movie Rendition yet?

At any rate, live your life how you want, but be careful who you associate with.

[polarbear 0]

This is exactly the reason why my husband doesn't associate with men his own age or younger. He prefers having friends in their late 30s/40s...responsible men with families. So many of these guys in their 20s and early 30s do nothing but party and drink. Unfortunately a few ladies here know about that first hand.

he says he's not interested in talking to other arabs

My husband agrees with yours, julianna.

We have a smallish MENA population in Minneapolis/St. Paul and my husband has made a couple of good friends. During Ramadan one year ago he was hanging out at a local Sheesha cafe playing cards and met LOTS of Moroccans, Algerians And Egyptians. He hung out with them for a while, but they weren't the best influences. Too much partying and crazy lifestyles. He has chosen to not be involved with most of them at all.

Another issue that might cause some controversy: being involved with the local Muslim population can be potentially risky in the current political climate. If you meet one nice guy, who knows who else he might know? What if your phone number ends up in the phone of someone with suspect ties?

My husband was warned by his Moroccan friends in New York (who have lived in the US for 15-20 years) to stay away from Muslims in this country. Perhaps they are just paranoid, but the Patriot Act is scary stuff. Anyone seen the movie Rendition yet?

At any rate, live your life how you want, but be careful who you associate with.

Yeah, I just talked to my SO about that this morning. He's not too excited about having a little wedding celebration because he doesn't know anyone and the ones who speak arabic he's not going to trust. I don't know any of the men at the masjid, only the women. Most of they are VERY nice and I know a little about their husbands, so I'm hoping he meets someone nice and responsible to make friends with... especially since he doesn't speak English, that makes it hard to make friends here until his English gets ALOT better

[ya falaha! 0]

^^^^^^^^Taking your fiance to the masjid is a great way for him to network. That is how my husband found work and made a couple of his friends. His closest friend here we met at the grocery store, lol. The man and his wife were in line behind us and they just started talking to my husband. That man is a Godsend I swear!

Once your fiance starts working here, he'll pick up English rather quickly esp. if he works with the public. Having a few Arab friends will not hinder his learning of English. These guys do have a need to express themselves and using Arabic is the easiest way. I think that was one of my husband's biggest fears...not having anyone to speak Arabic with here. He speaks English 98% of the time, that has really helped him improve his English.

[MrsAmera 41]

Agreed Moody --

Every one of these guys I guarantee said before they come "I just want to be with you" but trust me the homesickness will set in and your SO NEEDS to get out and meet people. Having a few friends either arab speaking or not will be a great benefit to your relationship - honestly. When we lived in a smaller area the few arabic friends my husband had were older, wtih families like us and that was good because they understood family commitments etc. He didn't really connect with the younger guys because well we were at a different place than them. Working and taking ESL classes will be great for SO's as it encourages them to speak and learn English. Funny story.

My husband always said "Why do I have to speak English" when he first came and really struggled with it. Now his best friend just won a diversity lottery visa and is in Boston - and I heard my husband talking to him on the phone during their first conversation after he got here and my husband said "You know Younes, you have to learn English as fast as you can because you can't do anything here if you don't know English." I almost fell off my chair laughing because I couldn't believe he had finally come full circle.