> "Well, I could take the same route every single day, and don't see the same people twice. It is just horrible."
Have you tried to see them twice? Have you asked?
Having lived in quite a few large metros in my life, and now living in NYC, I have to say: the city is as impersonal and isolating as you let it be.
My challenge to you: forget every preconceived notion you have about strangers, how you're supposed to behave in public, and the how and the whys of friendship and hanging out - and go talk to some strangers.
You'll get some weird looks, but your success rate will be 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than what you'd expect.
I've seen this stance expressed on HN before and receive some flak - but I say fuck the naysayers. They can have solitude if they wish, but there is no crime in asking a stranger to shoot the shit over coffee, and anyone whose day would be ruined by such a request is oversensitive and paranoid to the point of absurdism.
Have you tried to see them twice? Have you asked?
Having lived in quite a few large metros in my life, and now living in NYC, I have to say: the city is as impersonal and isolating as you let it be.
My challenge to you: forget every preconceived notion you have about strangers, how you're supposed to behave in public, and the how and the whys of friendship and hanging out - and go talk to some strangers.
You'll get some weird looks, but your success rate will be 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than what you'd expect.
I've seen this stance expressed on HN before and receive some flak - but I say fuck the naysayers. They can have solitude if they wish, but there is no crime in asking a stranger to shoot the shit over coffee, and anyone whose day would be ruined by such a request is oversensitive and paranoid to the point of absurdism.