I live in a sparsely-populated state in the upper midwest that is extremely conservative and christian(not that there is anything wrong with that) and where it is the norm to get married young, like really young. I’m a 24 year old straight male that is very active and at least semi-attractive. I’m well traveled and open minded however I’m very shy and I don’t drink which is quite literally the only social activity here. I love to run and hike which is great but are more of solo endeavors that, at least so far, haven’t helped me meet new people. I’ve tried the dating apps which carry a stigma here and at most leads to a few days of conversation and no dates due to either lack of interest or difference in values. I have great friends who I love but they are all married/engaged/have kids and I’m very happy for them but it leaves me out of a lot of things which seems crazy as we are all so young and I really don’t understand the rush to get married and have a family. Being single has never bothered me all that much because I like to do my own thing and I understand that living in a state of less than a million with no real population centers doesn’t allow for much dating at all and I refuse to do the “we’re the only two single people in town so lets hook up” thing but frankly I’m starting to get lonely. I’m not religious,which to me shouldn’t matter, but religion is a huge part of society here and while I would have no problem dating someone who is religious they seem to have a problem dating someone who is not which trims my options even more. Just curious if anyone who’s been in a similar position had any advice or suggestions other than to move (which I do plan to do but it will be 18-24 months before that is feasible)