And honestly? His post hit harder than most housing takes or transit rants we cover. Because this guy isn't an anomaly — he's the norm.

The Bay Area has a loneliness problem, and it's not because people here are unfriendly (though, let's be real, the flake rate on plans is legendary). It's structural. We work punishing hours Monday through Friday. We commute absurd distances. We pour ourselves into careers and relationships and then wake up one day realizing we forgot to build a community around us. The cost of living means people churn in and out of the region constantly, making it nearly impossible to maintain long-term friendships. And unlike cities with deep neighborhood bar cultures or front-porch traditions, San Francisco's social infrastructure increasingly runs through apps, group chats, and algorithmically curated meetups.

Here's the libertarian case for caring about this: loneliness is expensive. Isolated people have worse health outcomes, use more public services, and are less engaged in their communities. A society of atomized individuals doesn't self-govern well. Strong social bonds are the original small government — people helping people without a bureaucrat in the middle.

So what's the fix? It's not a city program or a taxpayer-funded "friendship initiative" (please, no). It's cultural. Say yes to the awkward first hangout. Show up to the same running group three weeks in a row instead of one. Stop treating every social interaction like it needs to be optimized for maximum ROI.

To the guy looking for a fishing buddy who also likes country music and Crissy Field walks: you're not broken. The Bay Area just makes it unreasonably hard to do something that should be simple — knowing your neighbors.

If this resonated with you, maybe that's the nudge to text someone back.