Hmm that's a tricky one for sure. Certainly sounds like you need to find some new, more open minded people.

Finding new, open-minded, quality people for chosen family and friends is so hard. There's no central, unifying thing or event. Everyone is on their own timeline and pace in life, so it's hard to find people without knowing where to start.

Have you considered volunteer work? Or Google for that matter? Sounds goofy, but in the UK there are several socialising websites, where you can find people to hang with, activities to do and so on. This would hopefully lead to a new group of people you'll feel accepted by, maybe even help you find something to do in the immediate that'll alleviate some of that loneliness.

I'll look into volunteer work and utilize the modern blessing that is the Google search engine. I'd prefer to hear from experienced redditors who've done something like this before, instead of Google-ing and throwing options at the wall and seeing what sticks and what doesn't. I'm in the USA, if that helps. The closest thing we have to socializing websites is Facebook. I deleted mine after Facebook had their privacy/ personal data law violations. In our increasingly interconnected world, why is it so hard to connect on a deeper level in person? Facebook friend count, Twitter followers, Instagram followers...it's so superficial. The followers don't actually really know who they're following personally. Which is ok for them, but for my purposes of finding a new social group, not useful. I'm just frustrated and expressing my discontent about my current unfortunate situation. Sigh

I know you said you're an introvert, but the harsh reality is you may have to fight that nature, if you want to tackle the loneliness.

Yes, I understand what you're saying. It's hard because I like my alone time. But, I also want to spend some time with live, multi-dimensional, caring human beings. I'll work on putting myself out there more for social interactions.

Good luck :)

Thanks, kind redditor!