An international assignment doesn’t end once you’ve settled into a new destination. Adapting, building new routines, forming connections and feeling part of the place are also essential parts of the experience. With people at the center, Exego Community Chile was born.
Last Saturday, we took a new step in the way we support international mobility with the first in-person gathering of Exego Community Chile, an initiative created to connect expatriates living in the country and create spaces where they can get to know each other, share experiences and build new networks.
This first gathering brought together 17 participants, including expatriates, partners and children from six countries, marking the beginning of a community that will continue to grow alongside its members.
Support beyond arrival
Moving to another country involves much more than managing an immigration process, finding a home or coordinating the practical aspects of settling in. It also means learning new customs, understanding other ways of communicating, discovering a new city, building new routines and, very often, creating a support network from scratch.
That reality is what gave rise to Exego Community Chile, a free benefit for our clients’ assignees who move to Chile for periods of one year or more.
The initiative aims to support different expatriation experiences: people who arrive on their own, as a couple or with their families. Every journey is different, but they all share, to some extent, the challenge of adapting to a new environment and building a life far from home.
Our purpose is to complement the support we provide during the immigration and relocation process with something equally important for a successful international experience: the opportunity to connect with others who are going through, or have already gone through, similar challenges.
Our first gathering: getting to know each other, sharing and connecting
The first activity was designed with exactly that in mind: to start building connections.
During the morning, participants shared their home countries, how long they had been living in Chile and some of the experiences that have shaped their adaptation process.
We also held an activity focused on Chilean words and expressions, which naturally sparked conversations about language, cultural differences and those small everyday situations that are part of learning to live in a new country.
As the gathering went on, shared experiences, recommendations, questions and conversations began to emerge among people who, until that day, had never met.
Some participants highlighted the value of having a network where they can support one another. Others told us how meaningful it was to have a space like this. And one family, who had been living in Chile for just three months, told us that knowing they could count on this community helped them face this new chapter with greater peace of mind.
That spontaneous exchange is exactly what we aim to create.
A community that will keep coming together
One of the pillars of Exego Community Chile will be its monthly gatherings.
Through a variety of activities, we want to create opportunities for expatriates, partners and families to meet again, explore Santiago and Chile, share interests and, above all, build connections with one another.
Each gathering will also be an opportunity to welcome newcomers and bring them into a network that will evolve alongside its own members.
Because building community takes more than providing information. It takes creating spaces to meet, share experiences and build trust.
A platform to stay connected
During this first gathering, we also introduced the new Exego Community digital platform, and participants were able to sign up and start using it that same day.
The platform complements the in-person gatherings and keeps the community active between events. On it, members can access:
- Practical information for life in Chile
- Activities and things to do
- Suggested routes
- Benefits and partnerships
- Spaces to interact, share recommendations, ask questions and connect directly with other community members
This way, support isn’t limited to a monthly gathering. Exego Community aims to become a point of connection throughout the different stages of living in Chile.
This is just the beginning
We closed our first gathering watching people from different countries exchanging experiences, sharing recommendations, laughing at the quirks of Chilean Spanish and making plans to meet again.
That scene captures exactly what we want to build with Exego Community: a space where moving to a new country doesn’t mean starting completely from scratch; where those who arrive alone, as a couple or with their families can find people to share experiences with, discover their new surroundings and build new connections.
We will continue creating spaces, activities and tools to support our assignees throughout their experience in Chile and to build, together with them, an ever more connected community.
We move talent. We support people. We connect the region.
And with Exego Community, we also connect people and build community.