To crave community wish real life was more like a soap (excluding all of the crime!)

[PeaceUnto]

I've been having a hard time recently and found comfort in watching soaps. I've never been into them before, but I have been finding them really comforting to watch. It has me wishing real life was more like them - being able to sit in the local cafe or pub and know nearly everyone who walks in. The close knit (albeit sometimes dysfunctional) families, with multiple generations all living closely.

I just think real life is a bit lonely and isolating and think that this must be the loneliest time in human history. We are more connected than ever, but we're also more isolated than ever.

The local pub one I don’t think is terribly uncommon: we’re in a pretty average London suburb and we have a pub on our street and know all the bartenders and most of the locals who come in. It’s a nice atmosphere. We’re friends with immediate neighbours, know much of the rest of the street to wave at, we chat with the guys who own our local convenience store, get all the gossip from the folk who garden in the allotments behind our house.

I can honestly say I don’t feel isolated from my community at all. I keep abreast of what happens in the area, I go to community stand-ups or action groups if there’s an issue being raised I feel I want to get involved in. Community doesn’t build itself, and it doesn’t generally come to find you: there’s got to be some element of you putting the effort in.

I felt like this! I lived in a big city and hated it. I was so lonely. We moved there and I had no connections to it. Plus we lived on the outskirts in suburbia so there was no local pub. Completely soulless.
I moved back to the market town I grew up in and although it was a bit weird moving back to begin with - I soon got used to it and now I love it. I bump into people I know all the time. I know all my neighbours. Endless community events. Yes, it's not for everyone but I've never been happier. Nice communities do exist.

I think it can be like that depending on where you live and the amount of effort you want to put in.
We lived in our old street for 6 years and only knew the neighbours either side, 1 elderly 1 not very nice.
We moved to a village to get more space, more commuinity but I "threw' myself into it. I set up a village mums group on Facebook which did meet ups, set up a baby group in local church hall, became a school governor, volunteered with local girlguiding group, run our class whats app and socials, help at a children's Athletics Club. It's a bit hectic as we both both work (DH full time and I do 4 days) but we absolutely have that commuinity. Every time we go to local park, or pub, or cafe, we see someone we know and our girls are super confident communicating with a wide variety of people due yo all the activities we do

Totally depends on where you live and how you involve yourself in community life to be honest. I live in Wales which is just one big community to be honest - the amount of times I have bumped into someone I know in the most unlikely place. It’s one reason why I love where I live. Tomorrow I have an event with work (my work is all about community ) where lots of people are coming to my home city, then in the evening I will be going to drinks with people from a hobby I do. Tomorrow is going to be an epic day - would be good if it stopped piddling down for five minutes but I’m used to it! I’m actually meeting a few people for drinks tonight to help welcome them down south after a long journey.