Really Making Connections

Isn't InterNations all about making connections? Learning about different cultures? Understanding and appreciating differences? Yeah, I thought so. But, is it (or any of the zillions of other sites) really doing this?
Yes, there are lots of people "selling" what they believe in but, to me, what is missing is more personal. A way to connect with ordinary people around the world and "compare notes" about how things are different. In times past, you might say "have a pen pal".
I try to personally do that with regard to Nicaragua (and even on a web site I have specific to Nicaragua) but I generally cannot find information on that personal level here or anywhere else about other countries.
I don't have a solution but would be willing to help work toward one. I am been collecting some general information on the why, where and how of expatriation for a generic web site but it still lacks the "personal touch" for all destinations except Nicaragua.
Is there something out there that really does this connecting? Even for just a single country that might make a good model? (Note that I am talking about "really moving to a new place and becoming part of it" rather than constructing ex-pat communities fundamentally isolated from the existing society. It's easy to find a group of ex-pats jabbering about how it is cheap to live in country X, how there are women available, ... Not what I am interested in.)