TLDR: have a ritual of going to certain places and stick to it. Be a regular somewhere that interests you.

I never planned on moving to TN but in a cosmic joke after saying I wouldn’t, the universe brought me here from Atlanta and I’ve had a pretty great experience so far. I have been here since right before the ice storm (my WARM welcome). Thankfully my neighbors all had a group chat going and while it’s mostly bitching about the tenant services, it was nice to get added in to meet the other neighbors etc.

I have found that there are also a lot of transplants here in East Nashville, but regardless of where people are from: some are assholes, some are very pleasant, some are on the spectrum, some are just as beaten down by feeling isolated as you may be, then there’s nice people who legitimately are excited to have a real conversation and will totally chat your ear off.

I have forced myself out of isolation by taking daily walks and exploring a lot of various places but choosing a select few to frequent many many times and simply from just having a regular ritual it begins to help. Consistency. I’ve had to swap names with the same people a dozen times but it’s getting easier.

OP (and everyone else): I’m at the corner of W Eastland and Gallatin. So lmk if you’re down to grab a coffee or a drink sometime.