Recently got laid off from work so my days are currently free and unstructured as I plan my next move.

I spend a lot of my days drinking tea, vegging out on my couch with book in hand, eating delicious things, taking photos of beautiful things, and being obsessed with an orange cat on the internet named Jorts.

Surviving the chaos, you know how it is! Me and my plants.

I got back into gardening after a long hiatus, and I am officially in my grandma/cottage core era. I can't believe how much I miss it. Playing with dirt and soil feels so primal that it teleports me straight back to my childhood.

It's definitely not a career, or family, but real connections. I want to cultivate deep and fulfilling relationships, but unfortunately this has been difficult to achieve for the same reasons why it's hard to make friends post college.

Anything I recently found interesting?

Around the Corner! Love the concept.

I'm a female immigrant who moved to the Bay Area in 2015. I'm currently well established in my career but since I moved here I've struggled with making new friends. I'm currently working on myself and trying to improve my social skills.

My daily life routine revolves around working, going to the gym, taking painting classes, and taking care of my cats and plants. Whenever possible, I like to do outdoor stuff like camping and hiking.

Going to the gym and keeping in contact with nature (hiking, camping, offroading)

Strengthening my current friendships and improving my social life. After a bad breakup, I woke up to the fact that I was neglecting my friends, who are not that many since I didn't grow up in the US.

This Reddit post, which brought me here: https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1alecrf/talking_to_strangers_for_12_months_connecting/ OP's story is very similar to my story and I'm feeling very inspired by their post.

Not where I wanna be. Not where I ever imagined, both in good and not-so-good ways. I’ve just hit midlife (yikes!) and still not married (no partner either) and no kids. I’ve never desired having kids but have always wanted to be married. Unfortunately fate/karma had/has other plans for me, it seems. So here I am! Seeking a new chapter of MEANINGFUL friendships!

All in all, I’m lucky in a lot of ways. It’s easy to complain about things not going my way, esp seeing everyone around me having what I want. But I have a roof over my head, can afford the necessities (food, clothes), and some luxuries. I have a job that allows me to afford my life, to which, I am grateful, even though there are parts of the job that aren’t ideal. I have more text friends than actual friends I meet up with regularly. I hope to start a new chapter here, making new connections in an unexpected way!

A good hearty catch up with friends over either a home cooked meal or a nice restaurant, followed by a glass of wine.

Most imp to me is finding something, anything that keeps me living. Not in the physical sense but emotionally/internally. I want to find that zest for life through friendships. I may never find a partner but friendships are a necessity. I want to find people who enjoy different activities; things that I like and things I’ve never tried and want to. I do love learning as well so all the better if I can learn from newfound friendships and equally share my knowledge as well!

I wouldn’t say this is interesting but I recently have been into library book sales and am trying to read more. Granted, I still can only read fiction, as I use them to mentally escape reality, I’ve grabbed the occasional non-fiction!

I’m almost halfway through my 30s, child free so far, and recently recognizing the need to build, foster, provide, and maintain a support network outside of blood relatives.

My life is starting to smooth out now, after a lifetime of bumps and potholes. Lost both of my parents in the last 5 years - it has profoundly impacted my life, both the weight of the loss, and the weightlessness of the newfound freedom from toxic negativity.

My dogs, and my partner. Taking a deep breath, coming back to the present moment with various grounding exercises. If time permits, taking 5-15 minutes to journal, starting with 1, 3, or 5 things I'm grateful for right now.

Nurturing my relationships, keeping my loved ones close, establishing professional stability to alleviate my anxiety about the future, learning about personal finances.

Learning to cook different things, practicing mindfulness and gratitude, doing balance exercises and paying attention to my body and what it needs

Early 30s, married, good career in medicine, steadily advancing forward on a pretty traditional life path. Now attempting to navigate work life balance so that life feels a little less grind and a little more fulfilling.

Comfortable; I recently move back to the bay (grew up here) and have been reconnecting with old friends and family. Home life is great, and my swap to less work days has me engaging with more hobbies on my spare time that I've wanted to pursue all my life.

Family, my dog, my work (oddly enough), and my many hobbies

Getting fit and staying that way: I just signed up to do part time with the USAF and need to make sure I don't fail the physicals.

Expanding my social circle: looking for folks lively enough to enjoy some nightlife with, but also still need to get home at a responsible hour because we got crap to do in the morning.

Started flight lessons at the beginning of the year and started learning a ton about private and commercial aviation.

I’m a man in my early 30s. My girlfriend and I live in the South Bay, and I work up in San Francisco for work/living (and am eager to meet/connect with people in either!).

I had a pretty active social life prior to COVID, and kept up with my closest friends during the pandemic, but I really lost some momentum on the broader social side of things. I’d like to change this! Some things I really like: deep conversations and talking about big ideas, completely meaningless conversations, goofing around/being at play, learning and trying new things, being outdoors, board games, seeing shows/movies/performances.

It’s alright! I have a lot to be thankful for, although I’ve been known to feel a bit lost and/or lonely some days. I’m not currently finding a lot of fulfillment in my career at a big tech company, although I’m really engaged in my hobbies at the moment (creative writing, improv), and I’m trying to figure out how to make it all work.

Hobbies—I’m really interested in storytelling, and it’s something I want to get better at and have been thinking a lot. I love a great story (in movies, books, plays, whatever) and am trying to learn how to create some myself. I try to consume a lot of stories (I read a lot and try to watch at least a movie/week), and as far as creation goes I’m starting with short stories and a bit of improv for now, but who knows where this will go.

Exercise also goes a really long way for me—I’ve been a casual runner for a long time (I love trail running!), and recently started doing some barbell training. I’m an amateur at both and plan on keeping it that way, but they do wonders for my stress/mental health.

Finding more purpose/direction in my life, and making/deepening friendships.

1. Birkenstock Sandals apparently used to sell a skincare line (!!!), but discontinued it

2. Jack Handey will write you funny/nice notes if you buy books from his website (or at least, he did for me)

My wife and I are in our early 30s and trying to settle into the bay after moving here in 2022. I've been in my career doing commodities consulting for over a decade and am trying to grow more outside of my career. Kids are in the plans for the next few years, but currently child-free.

In many ways it's great, but since moving to the bay establishing a social circle has been challenging. Working from home only compounds that.

Traveling and getting away from work. My wife and I try to make many small trips throughout the year with some bigger ones. Enjoy as much of our youth until kids make travel harder. I became adept at getting cheap/free travel when I traveled regularly for work, so playing that game and planning the next vacation is my favorite daydream.

Right now getting my wife and I to feel more at home in the Bay Area is my biggest priority. We've been here for more than 18 months but haven't found many close friendships.

It's an hour faster to fly SFO-London than it is SFO-Tokyo. The scale of the Pacific is just insane and makes the success of the Polynesian explorers seem impossible.