[mecHacker]

I partly agree with your opinion. But here is how it looks like at my end so far:

with existing network: people have gotten cold - when I honestly put across my situation. People who would gladly go out on beer with me when, and have good conversations, have gone drop dead silent when I reach out: "Hi XYZ... I've started consulting, and I'm looking for new business opportunities. I'd love to talk to you about this... could we catch up over a call sometime next week" How'd you reach out?

huge consulting rates: I'm not sure what you'd consider huge rates, but I'm not expecting US rates here.