Living in a super small town is so isolating

[depthss]

My town has less than 400 people. I don't have any friends here. I don't have anything in common with people here, the people older than me, which is the vast majority of my town, are absolutely not interested in anything I like. They mostly just work, watch tv, do woodworking if they're men, go to church on sundays, etc. the people my age (18) are very into social media which I'm very disconnected from. And then the younger people are all just little kids, mostly age 8-12, which I obviously don't want to be friends with lol

Living in such a small town is so lonely, I can't drive because my vision is really bad, and the nearest town, which is pretty much the same just slightly bigger, would be a 2 hour walk away from me. I don't have anywhere to meet people and it's so isolating, I hate just spending most of my time alone. The only nice thing about it is that it's not that expensive and I live near the ocean, but that's just not worth how isolating it is. I've been here all my life but I still feel like an outsider, everyone is apart of a community and has friends but me

 

[Anri_wants_peace]

i uhm...relate so hard to that
at least the people in your town seem chill for what you said...in here there's only illiterate assholes.

 

[Argo]

If it helps, I live in a very large city, and it's also isolating. The location doesn't matter, isolation is not a feature of proximity to humans, but a feature of being human. I always return to this quote by a character Robin Williams played:

"I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It's not.

The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone."

 

[Leavesfromthevine]

As someone who's lived in both small towns and major cities I have to say it's definitely harder in a small town. There's just less of a chance to meet new people and less opportunity to experience new things.

The thing with major cities though is it can be just as isolating. You can be surrounded by so many people yet still be alone. If you ever find yourself living in a bigger city just remember to put yourself out there otherwise nothing will be different.

 

[KuriGohan&Kamehameha]

I grew up in one of these places and spent the majority of my life there, so I can understand your pain completely. That environment is very grim if you don't have a tight-knit family structure, childhood friends, or heavy investment in the local religious community. When you don't fit into the very narrow cultural roles that come along with the territory, it is a deeply isolating experience, because everyone else has found their tribe while you're left sitting on the sidelines feeling like a complete outsider.

I saw many strangers and people who grew up around me succumb to drug and alcohol addictions due to just how depressing and hopeless such an environment is, due to the lack of industry, finances, resources, and socialization that exists in these remote small towns and villages.

If you can find a way out of there, I think you will be much happier for it. Though it is not easy, and I wouldn't recommend completely uprooting and moving to a new place unless you can find something to help anchor you there- i.e. kind flatmates/housemates, going to university, friends in the area who you can socialize with once you move. I have been completely isolated in big cities too because I didn't have any connections there, so it's something to be aware of. However, there are far more opportunities to meet others in cities compared to podunk small towns.