Not to make any snide insinuations, or to exaggerate for rhetorical sake, but imagine if you didn't marry and didn't have kids. Just did the career-thing, cubicle to corner-office, grew the portfolio etc., and then retired. Meanwhile, elderly parents passed away, work-networks frayed, and old friends all coupled-up.
Yeah, I totally get it. Different choices lead to different paths - familial and financial.
I had an unspoken rule of never being a friend with coworker. Although I ended up with 1 coworker friend.
Meet Up in my area has a lot of interest and demographic based groups (couples aged x-y, singles, etc). None specific to early retirement around here. Some are good and some not so much (usually someone trying to push their busisiness). I'd find groups with similar interests and post events at the times you want to do them... may get low responses during working hours but you'll meet people that like what you do and have availability.
I similarly didn't socialize with coworkers. For most of my career, especially early, I was much younger and at a different stage of life too. I had a couple "work friends" but other than work had little overlapping interests. I keep in sporadic touch with a few and enjoy meeting for the occasional lunch or drink although they are pretty rare. Work really only met financial needs for me, I didn't find it particularly fulfilling (important mission but I was a cog in the wheel) nor did I have any deep personal connections there.
