The Toronto Foundation report paints a sombre picture of post-pandemic life where crisis is the new normal, and the high cost of housing, homelessness and climate change have converged into a “polycrisis.”
www.thestar.com
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Do we agree with this? I’m in my early 50s and live in Toronto. Even though my children have left for university , and my job has moved almost entirely to wfh, I don’t find myself feeling lonely. First of all, I’m married for over 25 years, so my wife and I do most things together. Then there’s my motorcycle club that meets every Sunday for breakfast and once a month for a bbq or dinner out, and my model boat making club that meets every month, you can follow my build here,
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30...eller-1150-kit-bashing-the-heller-le-superbe/. Next, after Sunday motorcycle breakfast I attend the local Anglican Church, where I volunteer on the board. Lastly, I’m active in my community, walking the dog twice a day and always chatting with fellow Cabbagetowners at the pubs or park. I think you just need to make an effort.
First note, women tend to feel loneliness more than men.
That's not to suggest men don't experience that; but in the mean women are more social creatures and miss interacting w/others more than men. The difference isn't huge, but it is statistically significant.
This study examines the relationships between loneliness, gender, and age for people without and with disabilities (moderate versus severe) in Germany. Using data taken from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2013 and 2017 and using ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Second note, you're married, by definition you have someone with whom you share your life and that will make you less susceptible to loneliness, on average, vs those who are single/live alone.
Third note, you note your own behavior in respect of combating loneliness; Church, volunteering, dog walking, hobbies.
Most people are not religious in the sense of regularly attending their local church/synagogue/temple/mosque
Owning a dog is expensive to many people, as are many hobbies.
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I say the above without being at all critical, but simply to point that your life circumstances make it comparatively easy not to be lonely.
Where people w/o a companion, or for whom money is a barrier to a social hobby, or pet ownership etc etc. may be more susceptible
You're also in a single-family home neighbourhood, which is not representative of most Torontonians either, who are a bit less likely to know their neighbours in multi-res buildings.