People often talk about how isolated one can feel in Los Angeles.
In your car, stuck in traffic. In your neighborhood, perhaps feeling nations away from friends or colleagues across town. In your apartment…by yourself (almost one-third of Americans live alone).
Attempting to stay connected to others in a city like L.A. can be daunting, and might even feel impossible.
“There’s a revolving door feeling about lots of spaces in L.A.,” says Cat Moore, human connection specialist and director of belonging at the University of Southern California. “It’s so sprawling, it’s so fast paced. There’s a sense of scale that can become overwhelming, and people often come in and spin out.”
Lonely in LA
These days, large metropolises like L.A. seem to breed the perfect conditions for chronic loneliness: The cost of living is high, and people are constantly working at the expense of personal relationships. Many flock to the city to chase a dream, only to leave if it isn’t fulfilled. And of course, the ever-growing presence of technology, winding its way into all facets of our lives, keeps us tethered to screens and starved of human interaction more and more each year.
LA Can Be Lonely AF: Reframing An ‘Epidemic’
“Everyone here in L.A. is doing their own thing,” says Tori Leppert, an independent musician originally from Chicago whom we spoke to for this story. “If you aren’t intentional about finding those people, and making sure that your values and interests are aligned, they’re not paying attention to…
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