Why does moving away for work feel so lonely?
Relocating away from family and friends traps people in an exhausting routine of working, sleeping, and spending all evenings and weekends alone. Without a local social circle or a partner nearby, daily life gets reduced to an endless cycle that prevents them from feeling connected to their new home.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Taking sick days to travel and visit loved ones
- 2Trying to make friends in the lunchroom or staff room
- 3Making frequent weekend trips home to see family and partners
- 4Attending church potlucks or staff happy hours
- 5Seeking therapy, medication, or medical treatments for depression
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a good job (high school French teacher in PA), good classes for the most part, I like the school where I work, but I feel so lonely.”source ↗
“I live two hours away from my family and boyfriend, and currently have no friends where I live.”source ↗
“I go to work, sleep, do more work, go back to sleep, wake up and they whole cycle starts over again.”source ↗
“My wife was really struggling with the move and wasn't able to find a job here”source ↗
“I spend most of my evenings and weekends alone”source ↗
“I spend more time in my classroom than I do in my own home.”source ↗