Dear Prudence,
I moved away from my “hometown” two years ago. I moved around nearly every year as a child then stayed in my college town for six more years after graduation and really saw it as home. I left behind huge circles of friends because my partner got a job across the country. For the first year, the move was exciting. We slowly started to meet new people, find local must-see experiences, and generally settle in. Then the pandemic hit. Many of those new friendships fizzled because there’s only so much you can do on Zoom, and people here are still very locked down. My partner and I work all day in our small studio apartment and go on weekend hikes, but the monotony is getting to both of us. Every time I Zoom with my friends from my old town, I’m reminded of how loved I felt in that community and how much I miss it. I don’t want to be this unhappy anymore. My partner will not be able to get a job in our old town, and I don’t want to break up with her. I feel lonely and hopeless. What should I do?
—Cabin Fever