Start booking cheap private rooms via airbnb in population centers. Check the hosts' listings to see if they offer multiple rooms in the same apt. The more the better. It's like a hostel environment but you can retreat to the privacy of your own room whenever you like. I'm a host and list 3 private bedrooms individually in one of my apts. I've seen friendships randomly occur between guests who would've never met otherwise. My guests can range from medical students doing clinicals and residency interviews to traveling nurses to digital nomads to adventurous 19 yo Europeans.