Ask HN: Extrovert programmer without programmer friends, where do I find energy?

1 points by antonapa 11 years ago | 1 comment

Hi HN, I'm a really extrovert person, now doing remote CS studies. My classes are going fine (translated to US grades they're all A or B).

However, I constantly feel stressed and depleted, since I meet so few people in person in my day life.

The classes are not particularly hard, my deadlines are not that bad, and every time I have a short break when I'm able to meet a lot of people, I'm myself again.

I've got some programmer buddies on Skype, but they're not enough. Right now I just want to drop out to be in a place with actual humans.

How do other extrovert programmers deal with the isolated life that is remote work/study?

hardwaresofton 11 years ago |

A lot of people I know spend time in cafes when doing school work (maybe even doing classes) and when working on projects during the weekend. While being in the midst of people might not make you any less lonely/isolated (it's easy to be lonely/isolated even in the midst of a big group of people), but you should be able to get some more of that human interaction, and if you run into a person that looks to be coding too, you can strike up a conversation.

Also, what about meetups in your area? That's a great way to meet people with expertise AND meet friends who code/are doing stuff

There are also always the kind of rougher typical suggestions: joining sports leagues or doing some physical group activity (ex. yoga).

You could also take a side-job at a bar/cafe or something.