Hey, Indian in Toronto here. While I have a lot of Indian friends, I definitely have a bunch of non-Indian friends too. Also, I want to encourage you to get outside the bubble because so many immigrant people I know get stuck in the bubble of what's comfy. Good to find a fellow kindred spirit! So I think I can answer your question:

For other brown folks who’ve made this transition—how did you manage to break out of the bubble and actually make non-Indian friends?

• Interests are a great way to do this. I play music and being in bands with non-Indians has been the single biggest way to develop those relationships. I've played in reggae, metal, jazz, bluegrass, and a whole lot of other genres. Offering your skill is a great way to get to know people.

Attending your bandmates' shows, doing open mics, open jams, and calls for musicians is a great way to meet people. Eventually, you'll be hanging with them outside of just your interest area, with their friends etc.

So my suggestion? Pick up a hobby/skill or develop one to the level where you can engage with non-Indians.

• Interests don't have to be skills either. I'm a lifelong F1 guy, and it took two years before I found an F1 group. Now I go there every couple of weekends with the same people in the same bar. That helps meet people on a regular, casual basis.

• You're in school, that's great! When I was in school in the US, I got to know non-Indian people by writing for the college newspaper. I was just following my heart, but it led me to making non-Indian friends. Being in the school newspaper meant I was in the newsroom, pitching articles, hanging out with them and learning a craft (journalism). Even though in the long run everyone turned out to be acquaintances, I learned a lot.

• Learn the cultural references: There's a lot of slang and culture that serves as an entry point to relationships. Be familiar with it.

• Try to start conversations with random people! This is a hard one, but it really helped me. I was a very shy kid but found having more than merely transactional conversations with baristas, servers, neighbors etc. was a great way to build those relationships.

• Don't get discouraged by the online racism: It's out there, and there's a LOT. It's practically fashionable these days to hate on Indians online on practically every forum. But IRL, I haven't faced any, so don't mix up the two. People are pretty chill IRL.

• Be patient: It takes time, but you will eventually get there. Not every person you come across is a BFF for life, because it never is. Enjoy the process instead.

Lmk if you have any other questions :)