"there is a light at the end of this fucking tunnel and we will get through it."
As someone that was lonely before COVID, there is no light at the end. Makind friends when over 30 is incredibly difficult. Being an big extrovert in isolation is tough. I want to work in an office, but I probably never will again in our industry.
Don't be so downbeat. A lot of execs really hate remote working, they are people-persons who thrive on conviviality. They will soon push again to have proper offices. You'll be laughing at all this in 2022.
I have a few friends who have taken out of state contracts to do development work under the same premise. They've both said as soon as the pandemic is over, they'll finish their contracts and start working back in their home states again.
contributing to FOSS is a good place to make friends. other forms of volunteering too.
the difficulty is to do that without having 'to make friends' as the primary goal. that just makes you impatient because not every contact will turn into a friend.
to approach the office work problem, try finding people who would like to share a video connection while working. there are websites to facilitate that.
another way is mentoring. find juniors in your field, and guide them with your experience. i made a bunch of friends as a gsoc mentor and elsewhere.
any hobbies that you might have often also have online communities. join them.
post your interests right here. someone might respond.
as someone else here said, the light at the end of the tunnel is you.
put up that light and use it to find friends
As someone that was lonely before COVID, there is no light at the end. Makind friends when over 30 is incredibly difficult. Being an big extrovert in isolation is tough. I want to work in an office, but I probably never will again in our industry.