It tends to be pretty random. I’d say just maximize opportunity by doing more things that involve other people. In my experience I’d say about 95% of my attempts to meet people, whether that be for friends or dating, go nowhere. Then of the remaining 5%, only 10% of that lasts longer than a year. So 99.5% of your efforts will be unrewarded or only slightly rewarded.

So what can you do that involves other people? Meetups, volunteer, find an activity like climbing or trivia or whatever. It depends on your area. Since you’re in a rural area there won’t be much but take what you can get. Of course there’s a wide variety of rural areas, but there’s usually some activity prevalent in the area. Golf? Hiking? Hunting? Find wherever those people hang out and go hang out there.