Just put yourself out there. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you wanna be friends with the “fun” guys go join their group, introduce yourself, say “what’s up”. Don’t put a lot of pressure on it.

The same thing goes for hobbies. I assume you have hobbies and interests? Look up meetups for these things and then, and this is important, go do those things with other people. This is actually an easier avenue than the factory because you’ll already know you have something in common and, fundamentally, peeps love talking about their hobbies. And their hobbies are your hobbies. Jackpot.

But, at the end of the day, if you don’t want to be serious all the time then you just can’t take everything seriously. Being there for your kids? Every fucking time. Someone makes a joke at your expense? Laugh. Was it a good joke? Laugh harder. Who gives a shit.

Large right leaning cities are very much an exception and not a rule. Of the top 30 US cities only two have Republican mayors. Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.

Education/exposure does not magically change your whole philosophy

True. But it does make certain outcomes significantly more likely. Like adopting and voting more progressive.

Left leaning people tend to be better educated. The majority of the jobs for better educated people are in cities. Cities are more expensive because jobs for better educated people tend to pay more.

Not really. Maybe. It’s classified.