This isn't a solution to your problem, but I slowly fostered a relationship with my distant brother and father (who I had a right to not forgive) over several y

This isn't a solution to your problem, but I slowly fostered a relationship with my distant brother and father (who I had a right to not forgive) over several years. Loneliness is a strange thing to conquer and it's more of a state-of-mind than anything. I'm the "same" lonely as I was a few years ago. What I mean by that is that I still don't have friends in the city I live in, but mentally, I'm very satisfied because my brother or dad are a call away and that keeps me from falling into that sadness. I guess what I'm saying is, you stop feeling lonely when you're confident you have a few people to lean on. Pursuing meaningful relationships is very difficult and it's often easier to build on an existing foundation such as a blood relative or old friend. A lot of people will tell you to make new friends or go to a meetup, but it's really really hard to find people who will stick around and not turn into shallow acquaintances. Once you have one or two people you can cry to, the loneliness feeling evaporates. That's what happened to me, anyways.