Massena's airport serves exactly one destination, Boston, and even that is possible only through federal subsidies. It's "international" because they can muster up somebody to stamp your passport if you fly in via general aviation.
also, if you have a social "thing" like tennis or climbing or drugs or whatever thing you like that tends to have an active and welcoming social community that you're willing to engage with, then the social issue can be dampened somewhat
Your social "things" adapt somewhat to the environment. Since moving to rural Vermont, my wife and I have taken up hunting, and she has gotten back into fishing. There's a group of (mostly older) people who get together Wednesday mornings and shoot muzzleloaders and have coffee. I join them when work allows.
As a happy side-effect, it let me get into muzzleloader season with some support from people with a lot of experience. In Vermont, muzzleloader season falls during the damnable month between Thanksgiving and New Year's when the days just keep getting shorter, and there isn't usually enough snow (where we live) for snowshoeing. Having a reason to get out in the woods and be really present and observing nature when I otherwise would have trouble is outstanding for my mental health during that month.
That's not to say there aren't opportunities to climb. A rock gym just opened near-enoughish-by and I have friends who climb outside weekly at a nearby crag.
A tennis racket is $13 at Goodwill and tennis balls are $1.30/ea. In the case of living in Massena, NY like the author you can play at Alcoa Park for $0.00.
As for climbing, you don't need a $200 climbing harness you can tie your own Swiss seat out of rope ($2/ft.) and buy a couple of snap links ($4-10/ea.). I would buy a lower-end harness for $30 though.
Spread out over several seasons that is as close to "nothing" as you can get, and is well within reach of any person with a pulse.
35 years ago I played DnD with a single AD&D 2e player's handbook and DM's guide shared among us all, campaigns and items out of Dungeon Magazine and Dragon Magazine hand-copied from issues at the library, and a player miniature made out of a film roll canister that I used whiteout to paint a design on. Our greatest individual expense was dice and I think those were less than $10 for a set.
Hobbies are only expensive if you let them or want them to be.
Have you ever tried to do those sports with cheapest equipment? Because I did and it ended up the same as everyone else who tried it in a cheapest possible way - you stop because it is not fun nor pleasure and equipment limits you.
That being said, for tenista you need to pay entry. For climbing, you will be kicked out of gym on top of it being uncomfortable. Climbing gym don't want you injured due to badly made seat - it makes other guests feeling bad.
> Social thing assumes expenses. Hobbies assume expenses.
Entertainment is a line item in the budget: Library + Fishing = “Free”
Libraries can be amazingly social, for eggheads. Lots of groups and events meet there in my town. It’s a full-fledged Third Space.
[Neither the library access nor fishing gear is without cost, but at least they already account for taxes.]
By the way, anyone who benefits from free stuff, for example installing ad blockers, and earns $17/hr, should seriously consider tithing 5–10% to tax-deductible donations. It’s a matter of economic justice.
Libraries are highly dependent on the town you're in. Ours is open six (6) hours a week. The one in. The town we were renting in before we bought was open reasonable hours and the librarians were great.
It can be exceedingly difficult to fund and staff a library system, especially considering that libraries are no longer big rooms with moldy books on the shelves.
Libraries are high-tech and high-maintenance. If the community prioritizes their mission and invests in them, it works out. Sometimes, not so good.
At $17/hr even 10% (versus your 5) works out to $3536 at the end of the year ($17/hr × 40 hrs × 52 weeks @ 10%), which is a fair bit short of the $15,000 standard deduction; it doesn't really matter whether those donations are tax-deductible or not—you're not going to be able to deduct them.
If you equate a good time with spending money it is always going to cost money. I do almost nothing with my time that cost money, I have a lot of perks paid by work that I do not use because I just see no use for them.
> If you equate a good time with spending money it is always going to cost money
I'm not equaling anything with anything. I'm pointing out the reality to people claiming that "oh it's so easy to maintain any kind of hobbies and/or social life without spending a penny"
> I do almost nothing with my time that cost money
Oh, I'm sure you do plenty, you just don't assume there are expenses in what you do. I'm not claiming they are huge expenses. I'm just saying things not free