I'm Emily, in rural north central Florida, USA. I am a 52-yr-old woman, have always been single, no kids. I am striving to be independent, but have to be stuck in the rat race just to afford the bare minimum. I rent a tiny apartment in a 3BR/2BA mobile home that's been divided into two apartments. While I am happily single after many "failed" relationships (upside: they were all important lessons for my personal growth), I often wish I had a partner. It's just so impractical to try to do it all alone. Yet I don't want to settle for less than what I need and deserve, as far as a partner is concerned. After all, I'm not getting any younger. A roommate arrangement would be great at this point, but only with a compatible person. For now, I need to stay close to my job, so relocating isn't feasible. Plus, I have family here, so I wouldn't want to move too far away. This is a very rural area, though, great for practicing permaculture on a larger scale (than, say, the suburbs or urban areas). There is a lot of monoculture here. I could definitely use more permie-minded friends, local ones. I'm connected with a few people, but meetups have been difficult for me to pursue and plan, because of the busy-ness and demands of work and life.