The decline of the family has unleashed an epidemic of loneliness

Post by drdeadringer » Thu, Jun 06, 2019, 10:45 PM UTC

cwp wrote: post #677

WhompingWindows wrote: post #2

I felt loneliness acutely this week. I live alone, spend most evenings alone, and on top, work's coding and research has been slow for 2 weeks. Collaborators are at conferences and on vacation, so I had much less work and much less face-to-face contact than usual. Given that I code on my own, distribute analyses via email, and occasionally meet if people are around, I barely talked to people some days this week. Goin…

I had a bout of this about 20 years ago, so I made a rule for myself: I wasn't allowed to decline an invitation. If somebody proposed doing something together and I was able, I had to do it. That made a huge difference in my life. I did a lot of things that were... unexpected. (A few examples: I joined an ultimate frisbee league. I went skydiving. I joined a church group. I went to a strip club. I attended a wedding.…

Post by beavisthegenius » Thu, Jun 06, 2019, 10:47 PM UTC

oneshot908 wrote: post #652

I relocated out of the bay area in 2016-2017 and it was the happiest year of my adult life. I think Silicon Valley has a zero sum culture and having returned here for personal reasons but otherwise against my best judgment, I cannot wait to GTFO for keeps. I am really really good (perhaps top 10 or so worldwide) at one thing, and pretty good at a couple other things. If I didn't have that, I think I would feel utterl…

Post by defterGoose » Thu, Jun 06, 2019, 10:52 PM UTC

sp527 wrote: post #333

egypturnash wrote: post #220

Move to another city. Leave your small-town life. Chase your dream. Live alone. Pay more per capita to landlords. Pay more per capita for basic services, for staple foods. Pay businesses to do the household chores that you can't handle alone when you're also working a full-time job, and don't have a family to spread them out among. Buy more stuff to fill that emotional hole. Consume. Live in an apartment. Never see y…

> Pay more per capita to landlords. If you run the numbers, no one should want to be a landlord. Atrocious ROI. Homes are horrific investments if you live in them and still terrible even if you rent them out. I would encourage anyone who thinks otherwise to model this out for any major city/region to convince themselves. Renting is a great deal. You pay less, get better ROI on what would have been the downpayment by…

Post by widowlark » Thu, Jun 06, 2019, 10:54 PM UTC

somuchlan wrote: post #669

zhirafovod wrote: post #611

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just move to you home country and enjoy all you like about it! It is that easy! You have to live there to compare, as grass is always greener on the other side, especially when you are on a vacation. You are the master of your life! Make a block party to make neighbor friends, go to a park on a weekend, take a bus (yes, you can't start a conversation at a bus station if you only drive), travel to different US cities.

>especially when you are on a vacation. This. I used to live in Seattle after vacationing there a handful of times, but after living there I found it to be one of the most least welcoming, racist, Progressively Elitist™ places I've ever lived (and I've lived all over the US). It's easy to say "I will commit to making more meaningful connections with people/strangers today", but if this is not received or reciprocated…

Post by the_pwner224 » Thu, Jun 06, 2019, 10:54 PM UTC

pault wrote: post #575

DowsingSpoon wrote: post #541

The term “third world” does not mean something like “third rate.” The first world is the Western bloc, under the influence of the USA. The second world is the Eastern bloc, under the influence of the USSR. The third world is everyone else. I think we should stop using these terms.

I agree those terms are antiquated, and I suggest "developed" and "developing" instead.