For those of us with very small families...

Exactly. DH came from a huge family where 20+ would holiday together every year. He's ended up estranged from every single one.

I'm from a tiny family. We call and text two of my relatives most days and never feel lonely.

I did, I’m an only child and my parents moved away years ago and I hardly see them. I made my own family, I have DH and two DC. It very much factored into my decision not to have an only child.

I have a sister and a dad, and her kids but my dad lives abroad and my sister lives a couple of hours away so I don't see them that much. My mum was an only child and my dad has two childless brothers, one of whom also lives abroad. My OH is an only child but does have both his parents.

I don't have any close family. My DPs are dead, no siblings, no partner, no children. I have a few cousins, and we like each other but aren't close. I cope because there is no choice, and no point in worrying about it. Mostly I'm absolutely fine, and more than happy with my own company.

I’m an only with an elderly Dad, DH has three siblings, but as we’re the only ones with children, his side of the family’s shrinking! My children have commented that there’s literally no one in their age group.

But, I’m now building bridges with my first cousins and their families, which is great. Unfortunately my Dad and his siblings constantly fell out when we were growing up, so we barely knew each other.

As PP’s have said, focus on friendships and perhaps reach out to extended family. I get on well with my cousins now that I’m finally getting to know them.

I like it. There's my parents and my brother.
I don't see any of them regularly, we get on but we are quite different and live separate lives.
We check in with each other most weeks.
See parents once a month maybe more, and DB a few times a year.
My partner is from a large family who have a tendency to live in each others pockets, it can be a pain.

I do have plenty of friends and I like my own company, I can imagine it could be lonely without that.

I'm estranged from all my family. I feel incredibly sad and lonely. I haven't met anyone who is in this set up. Literally no one.

My family consists of my mother, who's in residential care, my sister, who's in Queensland, and me, in Victoria. It doesn't really bother me, except for what will happen to my cats if anything happens to me. My sister and I chat every week or so. We have better/less strained support services here, I think, than Britain does. It wasn't hard to move Mum into care this year. I'm in a retirement village, so there are plenty of people around, and it has its own support services should I need them (now if only they'd find me a job!). Any oddness I feel about living alone is because it's the first time in my life I've been able to do so.

It's just my DC and me.
Officially, I do have a sister, but I may as well not have.
My DC have half-siblings, so they see them around once a month, occasionally see teenage paternal cousins and have been over to see their paternal European family a few times with their Father.
I don't mind it for me (well, I do, it's like a quiet void that I compartmentalise, as it's too emotionally painful to access), but I mind it for my DC.

It’s just me and my children, nobody else, and it’s incredibly lonely at times. I have two good friends but both live hundreds of miles away, near by are only acquaintances. Also, grief of bereavement even many years later can hit like a freight train.

I wish I could make a local friend, but most people seem to find me odd. I’m lucky that I’m an introvert I suppose.

I feel very isolated. I had a very small but close family growing up and it sometimes shocks me how alone I am now. Both my parents and their siblings gone, NC with my only sibling. I have a lovely DP and friends but my best friend is moving away soon and I feel so sad about it. It's bought up a lot of insecurity.

@crochetmonkey74
If it's any consolation, big families are not always close families.
I'm an only child, born to a father who was an only child, and a mother who moved here from another European country. So no close extended family. I have cousins, but they all live far away.
I married a man who was one of 11, (not the reason I married him, btw!).
His sisters are close, (with each other, but not with the sisters-in-law, including me), but his 3 remaining brothers are like strangers and don't mix with each other at all. 2 other brothers have died, but things were just the same when they were alive. I find that quite extraordinary, especially as they are all within a 20 minute drive from each other.
My 2 kids don't have any contact with their many cousins on my DH's side, despite my efforts to integrate with his family when I got married, and then when I had my DC.
I admit that one reason I had DC was to have a "proper" family of my own. Both my DC are in their 30's. DS lived away, returned to us due to health issues, but will move out as soon as he can afford to. DD is married and lives overseas. For career and health reasons, I doubt that either will have DC's, but you never know.
So having family is no guarantee against potentially being left alone.
I focus on good friends, and doing work and stuff that I enjoy and give my life meaning and purpose
You say you don't have a partner at the moment, or any children. Are you of an age whereby having children sometime in the future is a possibility?

There’s just me, dh and our two dc (one adult aged). My Mum was horrible and died in 2019, I have no other relatives. My dh is no contact with all of his and has been for years. Neither of us have any friends either. Very introverted and don’t want them. I think bad experiences with people has just put us off. It does annoy me a little because if there’s an emergency (and I have a lot of disabilities so sometimes there is) there’s no one to help or step in but then both of us know from experience that having “people” doesn’t guarantee that anyway.

It's just me, my daughter and son, my mum dad and my granddaughter.

My kids have only two cousins on my DH side. I have to sisters neither with kids and one sis has no partner . Very small Xmas gatherings. I am envious of people with larger close family .

I have a small family. I'm on only child. My DM and DF are still alive and in relatively good health, but they are in their late 60's and I'm realistic to the reality that they won't be here forever.
I have my DH (he is also an only child). His DF passed away a long time ago and is DM is sadly terminally ill. We have one DC, and the thought of him being all alone in this world when we pass away is what is driving us to want to try for another baby even though we're in our early 40's.

Mine is me and my mum. No siblings, no cousins. Aunt, grandparents and my dad all dead. I don't have kids (by choice). My mum never had another partner after my dad died 30 years ago and I've been single for six years now. It's very very hard and scary to think that I'll likely grow old alone.

I'm an only, with an only. My parents and their families are either difficult to spend time with due to all the responsibilities they place on me or have been cut from my life. DPs family aren't close physically or metaphorically and I can't push on that.

I would have loved loads of kids myself to start a happy home but we only managed to have one. I tell myself this is a good thing, joke that I don't like kids but my heart aches. If we die, what is DD left with? No connections but those she forges herself. Friends are the family we choose but the bonds are easier to break.

By chance my cousins are DDs age and perhaps I should push that relationship but I only speak to their mum who was married into the family and now divorced. You've given me food for thought so thank you.

Large family here but due to delightful narc DM, there is no contact with half my siblings and all relatives have shunned our family.

Separated from H. I do worry about the future for DC.

Yup this is me. I've 1 DC, husband and that's us. Grateful for those two every single morning when I wake up.

Grandparents are either estranged or not there, and so we are very nuclear.

I feel we are even more precious.

Yes, I basically have dh and my DC. That's it. I came from a large extended family and grew up in a multi generational family but they've all gone now.

Myself and my DH come from very big Irish families, but have an only child, not through choice. We both both enjoyed being from large families, so have found it very very sad for our son. But it can't be helped.

I don't speak to any of my family and I'm a lone parent. Yes it does bother me having no family.

Me! Me! I’m an only child, my mother was an only child. My father had an older brother but he passed years ago. Both of my parents have died in the last years.
I am very lucky to have a lovely husband who supports me and 2 great kids. And his family really take care of me like i am one of theirs. I have a lovely MIL (a rarity on MN!).

But often it feels lonely. Nobody left to discuss my childhood with. Nobody who loves me unconditionally anymore. Nobody who can listen for hours to stories about my kids, like my mum used to do.
Luckily i have loads of photos. They all came to me from my grandparents on down. Sometimes i have a “sad day” and i sit with all my photos and cry. It sort of helps.