Like I said in my previous post, moving is hard, and a major component of that is that you typically don't know a lot of people where you're going. At least, that's where I fall. I have a couple friends in the Pittsburgh area, and that's it. I don't see them much and lately it's seemed all I do is go to work, go to the gym, and then go home and sleep.
For most people this would seem perfectly acceptable, working 50 hours a week and driving around 20. But the former student athlete in me feels restless. I don't like sitting around doing nothing, and I would definitely say I've been kind of lonely here, and it's ruined a good bit of my Pittsburgh experience. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind spending time alone. In fact, I pretty much despise the majority of the population and try to avoid them- but I realized that my time alone was transcending into me being lonely. Which at 23 years old, is something I shouldn't be- that shouldn't come until I'm into my 60s and have accrued a large amount of cats.
So I decided I needed to branch out a bit more and get out there. Problem is, a large majority of people my age like to go out and drink for fun, and I'm not really into that. There's nothing wrong with it, but when I'm up at 5am for work and work every other weekend, drinking isn't a high priority on my list- just ask the 6 pack of Shock Top that's been on my fridge for a month now that has one bottle missing. So what was I supposed to do? Well, as most people know, I'm an excellent creeper, so I went online and tried to find a place to play sports. I tried meet up, but it is all ultimate frisbee and soccer and I am way too competitive to play those sports weekly when I suck so much at them. Then, I found the Pittsburgh Sports League (PSL). I managed to sign up for a sand league on Mondays and basketball on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that's just started. I also started playing indoor volleyball at my gym, as well as pickup bball - and the guys consider me a regular there now too. Already I feel better! I'm not sure if it is the fact that I'm too busy to realize that I'm so isolated or if that's exactly the amount of interaction I need, but either way, it's exactly what I wanted. My life doesn't just consist of working and working out, I'm getting that competitive aspect that I've missed so much. And I'm feeling at ease and at peace :) And who knows, maybe I'll meet more like minded people like myself.
How about you? What do you do to ward off loneliness in a new place? Comment below