Neat, my favorite pirate radio station on shortwave used to broadcast from there. Always wanted to visit.
I've been in the same boat as you for the past 2-3 years. I'm also a bit of a junkie.
For me the problem is it's so hard to find anyone now that wants to do anything other then sitting in front of a TV. I can't stand watching TV and I can't stand playing video games anymore. I kept trying to hang out with the few friends I have left (all the others died young) but all they wanted to do was sit in front of a TV and watch MSM, youtubers covering MSM or play video games that frankly weren't interesting at all. I tried to get them to play older video games that are still fun but they claim they're too old and not fun. In reality, they just aren't piss easy. One of them claims I "hate everything" because I don't want to watch MSM, talk about politics or watch those awful youtubers that do nothing but talk about how women are shit or whatever twitter is ranting about today. Shame, guy used to be really smart and we'd have thought provoking convos. Now all he wants to do is sit on his ass, smoke pot and watch that awful "men going their own way" garbage. Constantly complains about the state of women while he beds multiple whores every week and pretty much ignores his own children (he has 3 by three different women).
My best friend is better but all we'd end up doing is playing the same video games we've been playing for 20+ years which I find boring now. Plus he never gets out of his chair. Just sits there all day shoving kratom in his mouth, snorting percocets, and smoking pot. He can afford it because he's 100% disabled and gets a fat check every month. He can't do stuff like go hiking anymore. Always wants to ask me if I've got some LSD but he never wants to go outside or do anything interesting on it other than sitting around watching movies or something. Can't stand taking LSD just to sit in front of a screen. I should probably call him because he's been trying to get in touch with me since Christmas but I keep putting it off. I love the guy but God Damn it's so boring doing nothing but staring at a screen. I loaned him a bunch of books but he didn't even bother reading them....
I think a lot of the problem with people now is they have no spare cash to go out and do anything at all. Even hiking is out of their reach now because they can't afford the gasoline to drive to the nearest state park.
Even when I do go to such places by myself I can't meet new people casually anymore. They're all zombies with their eyes glued to their phones. I sometimes go hiking down this trail that's 10+ miles to the top of a mountain with a fire tower on it. I'll sit up there for an hour or two enjoying the view and relaxing it. It never fails. A group of younger people will eventually show up. There will sometimes be 5-10 of them in a group. They don't do anything but take selfies or sometimes ask me to take a group picture of them. Then instead of enjoying the view or having a casual convo with me they'll all txt with each other on their phones or post selfies or livestream to tiktok or whatever the fuck they're always doing. If I politely ask them to please not film me they get offended about me "ruining the background" and act like I'm being rude.
If they weren't so hellbent on streaming constantly I would offer them a free hit of LSD or capsule of MDMA too...
It's so hard to find anyone now that isn't a phone zombie. It's maddening. I've pretty much given up on dating all together now because it seems like no one is interested in actually meeting someone IRL anymore. They all want to go through dating apps and they think you're lying to them if you tell them you don't do txting and have a landline phone. I eventually got rid of the landline too since no one ever calls it but Indian scammers.
I have the same type of problems in town. It's so rare to see anyone else that isn't constantly on their phones. Even the old folks (50+) are addicted to it. In fact, some of them are more addicted than the young folks. I feel like I'm the only one that isn't a zombie when I'm out in public sometimes. It's very refreshing when I actually come across someone that doesn't have their phone out and actually wants to talk even if it's about the weather.
Oh by the way don't knock the "bible belt" and church until you've tried it. Find out when your local churches are doing things like having "friend day", chili cook offs, or hosting some kind of event where they're serving food. In church I've noticed people are less prone to engaging in their phone addiction. There are a lot of people that go to church during those events that aren't Christians. I've found most Christian churchs to be very welcoming and most of the time they're aren't pushy about wanting to convert you to their cult. You can meet some interesting people there and maybe a nice girl if you're lucky. In smaller communities the local community is sometimes centered around the church like that.
Usually, it's the women that are the glue that hold those churches together. Through them you can meet some of their family members that don't regularly attend (such people usually show up on days when the church is giving away food). That can help you integrate into the community and meet new people that don't regularly attend. Service is usually only an hour tops at most churches. The rest of the day they're doing other stuff like eating together, playing softball games, basketball and other activities like that. There isn't a requirement that you believe in Jesus and God to attend church. Plenty of people go that don't just to keep their wives happy or because they're new to the community. Give it a try you might be pleasently surprised. Worse case you'll get to eat a good meal for free and only had to sit through a 1 hour service you didn't enjoy. Most of the time the services are pretty good even if you aren't into the Bible. They typically teach good life lessons and the stories are interesting. I suggest giving the Bible a read sometime as well if you're bored. It's helpful to know about what's contained in it. Approch it as fiction if you want most people do.
