The issue is that almost no workplace in the US is going to work like this knowingly for salaried employees. I really doubt your current workplace is okay with

The issue is that almost no workplace in the US is going to work like this knowingly for salaried employees. I really doubt your current workplace is okay with you working 20hrs/week, you just likely don’t tell them that’s the case. Maybe consider contracting instead? Just because you haven’t made friends doesn’t mean the rest of us haven’t. On top of this, work friendships can just be that. Work friendships. Ones that last as long as you’re at that job, not all of them have to go outside of it. And that’s okay.