About Aloe

The beginning of my startup story started in September 2019. I did what most people probably don’t ever want to do: Move alone to a new country, where you don’t know the language, and start your life over again, from scratch.

When I arrived in Paris, France, I hardly spoke the French language but I was determined to learn it to a certain fluency and pass the C1 DALF language exam, which would open many possible career tracks for me in the country. But, although I lived in a beautiful place and ate delicious food and walked around getting lost in the streets of timeless historic sites and monuments, my transition to life here was all but smooth. (But hey! It’s Paris and so I can’t complain, right?!)

But here’s the truth: When you go abroad alone, without a program, without a job, without knowing the language, without knowing the customs, culture, values, or people of the place, you become isolated and lonely pretty quickly, once you realize you’re the only one like you there. And you’re your own rock and you must defend yourself, alone. I quickly booted into survival mode to keep myself alive. Thankfully, I gradually became more comfortable with my environment and by month 5, I felt like a local and never wanted to leave the city, all the while taking 4 to 6-hour language classes Monday to Friday, continuing in my steadfast pursuit and determination to learn the French language to a fluent proficiency.

And then 6 months into my journey… the coronavirus pandemic hit and put all my dreams to a stop. I made the emergency trip back home to the United States and circumstances led me to being able to pursue the opportunity to create a possible solution that would have made my transition to Paris (or to any new city) much smoother, more comfortable and would ultimately, allow me to feel immediately included in a group of people like me from Day 1.

I put my thoughts together, heavily researched the idea with others, and jumped into creating a website that would be called Aloe.

I always loved meeting people and making new friends, but why did the process often feel so intimidating and hard? And why was it so hard finding people similar to you out of college? During the pandemic with social isolation, remote work, and loneliness on the rise, I knew something needed to change in how we met others and made new friends. Aloe was born out of a desire to have something like this available to me when I was in Paris, moving somewhere new or just wanting new friends. I hope you’re able to find your people, your place, and your in-person community through Aloe!