Feel so cut off from everyone

[Anonymous]

OP I hear you. We have been in the area twice as long as you and I would still say we don't have close friends, but I've been working on it and it's getting a little better. We also moved during pandemic and we know no one in our new school or neighborhood.
Some ways we have coped:
(1) we do the inviting-their old friend group is "seeing" each other every day in the virtual classroom and getting to socialize online, so we have to work extra hard to keep the connections. It's really one-sided, I think we've had people over maybe 20-30 times and have been asked back twice. But I know other families face other challenges and if my kids get to see a friend at least once a week it is completely worth it.
(2) invite the same people. Kids, esp. teens, get shy when they haven't seen each other for a while, even if it's someone they used to see a lot. Isn't the friendship formula proximity plus frequency times intensity or something like that? Keep at it with the same people.
(3) have an activity to distract so the kids can get interaction going. lawn games? s'mores? scavenger hunt? something that will be different from the other kids' every day routine, too. That will make them want to come back again.

I'm sorry you're going through this, OP, I have really struggled with it too over the years. I have lived places for only 2-3 years and made lifelong friends, but something about DC, or maybe the hours we all work, makes it really hard to make good friends. But just think, there are many people out there like this and if you reach out they might feel really appreciative and it could be just the generous spark needed to start a stronger friendship.

Good luck! Blessing to you and your family, we will all get through this somehow.

[Anonymous]

It’s harder to make friends in DC more so than any other places I’ve ever lived. And I’ve been here 15 years. It’s a very competitive culture that’s complicated by politics, the sheer size of the area, traffic, and demanding work schedules. It’s a town of class presidents many of whom are more interested in climbing to the top of whatever career ladder they are on than in building a genuine circle of friends.