Same here in Switzerland. After university I moved to my new job and for a good while I basically had no friends here. The vast majority of the people I hang out with are either family, are from a club I joined, from the club I started or came "attached" to someone from those categories.

Clubs are a good place to meet people for sure. :)

That whole local vs not is kind of crazy though. I know of a guy who's been here for 40 years, huge part of the local community, everyone knows him - and everyone still referes to him as "the guy from the north". I find it equal parts hilarious/sad-ish. I dread to think what it would feel like to be a foreigner here, and not just some guy who moved in from a city a few hours down the road. I get it though on some level, historically it's been a very isolated community, and even now getting here (or getting away) can be difficult, practically speaking, in the winter months.