r/NEETsOver30

Sorry for spamming this community lately. I know I've been posting a lot here lately, but this community has been pretty mature, so I feel somewhat safe talking about these topics here.

Anyway, I made a thread that I deleted about how I've been wanting to find my favorite person (someone who plays games with me and is emotionally safe, someone I can also talk about fashion and other girly topics with), but I've noticed again and again that there aren't very many places to connect, especially for folks our age. I browse r/neetr4r fairly regularly, and it's mostly people in their twenties. A lot of other communities (not necessarily related to NEET) lean young, also. A redditor in this community commented a while ago that yeah, unemployed/hikikomori people in their thirties are less "socially acceptable", because the thirties are when you're expected to have your *shit* together. Like, other people our age (at least the ones you see on reddit) are working corporate careers, making great income, married with children, and probably even own a house. Yeah, reddit does lean upper-middle class, so you don't see the thirty-somethings who are still living on rent, or those who barely have disposable income. People still working for a shockingly low wage, despite having university degrees. Still, it doesn't change the fact that there are very few places for people like us who haven't succeeded in the conventional ways

Someone else pointed out that people our age either already have their loved ones and aren't looking for any more people, or they've become completely content with their solitude. I guess that makes me feel a little hopeless about things.

What are your thoughts?

Genuine and Honest question because i turn 25 next year and i never had a job, so i will probably be cooked.

as an 11th grader, preparing for NEET online through pw and i've also taken dummy school...when i see my previous batchmates' stories, see them going out, enjoying, having the time of their life...basically living the "teenage dream". I just feel so empty inside...like a feeling that what am i even doing with my life, I wanted to be a doctor since i was a kid, and i like my subjects, and like choosing NEET was completely and entirely a decision of my own, my parents never pressured me into choosing a career path.

but this same routine daily and daily is like exhausting me. i went out for a few days with my family (and completely ditched studying for like 6-7 days) and i'm left with a tons of backlog that im trying to cover it for like 2 weeks now but still there are 15 more lectures unattended (not to mention the missed tests and no revision whatsoever..)

i used to be such an artisty kid, ive been drawing for as long as i can remember, almeras filled with my paint brushes and sketchbooks and all the other things i loved barely gets touched these days..

I feel almost lost...i keep questioning..am i even deserving to be a doctor?

i know...i know to be successful you have to walk on burning stones or whatever, just wanted to vent.

I’m officially a 32 year old loser.

Gonna spend the day eating Wingstop and playing Pokémon.

My mum still thinks I’m gonna have kids in the future, like I ain’t a complete fuck up. Like I ain’t ugly as hell and poor.

I never worked a day in my life (well, made a whole 5$ for helping someone) and don't receive neetbux.

I applied for jobs in maintenance and funeral jobs before but I think I wasn't what they're looking for. I want to apply again for maintenance or night stocking jobs now that I'm older, and after I get some things in order.

Earlier this year I started thinking I need to do something about my general health. I go out once in a while, started exercising (increasing the duration and making it daily habit), limited my screen time - instead of spending the whole day on the internet, today I waited until the evening - I tried quitting it all at once but my brain can't function without it at this point. I don't know where I'm headed and only focus on what's in front of me - otherwise, I start thinking my future is doomed no matter what and whether I find a job or not (negative thinking) and resorting to distractions again.

I've been stuck inside these 4 walls for so long that time has begun to blur. I'm 38 and still have no semblance of what a normal life is like i.e. going to work, paying bills and having relationships. I might as well be posting in the hikikomori sub. I am bitter that I have suffered like this for so long. On the other hand I barely have the energy to apply for anything anymore. I think I have had 5 interviews in the last 12 months (med school twice, teacher training twice, intelligence analyst). Passed the civil service tests with something like 91% in the numerical and 80% in the written tests. Still rejected after interview. I don't even want to work in the civil service but I'm demonstrating how I am capable but never seem to catch a break and that's what makes me bitter. Meanwhile everyone else seems to cruise from university straight into a graduate job? This shit has been going on for far too long now. In my head I'm still young but I graduated years ago.I don't want to spunk my savings on a masters and hope for the best but I don't know what else to do.

And even then, it was just a six month government program. I lasted 4 months at a gas station, it was really tough - and now I’ve been unemployed for a month. Before that, I worked at a supermarket for two weeks, a year ago. I’m worried that eventually, no one will want to hire me.

I've been trying to reach out to people through apps to make friends and so on. I look at their profile pictures and bios to know what they get up to, and I can't help but feel left behind. I feel like a child compared to them. Many of them have established careers as academics, they travel, are well put together, and then there's me. I never travel, almost never leave my house, have never had a real job in my life, and rely on my parents for financial support.

I'm living in a different reality than they are. How am I supposed to relate to anyone? I've been thinking lately that not fitting in is actually a good thing. I don't want to fit in because I don't value the same things society values or expects from people. I do want to feel belonging though. How am I supposed to find that in this world? Feels like I'll be alone most of my life.

I know there are people like me out there but where do I meet them? Maybe the problem is I don't lead my profile with "I've isolated myself for a decade and have never held a job in my life because of depression and trauma, etc." Then again I think that's probably coming on too strong. So idk. I think I just have to focus on finding kind people.

36/M I fucked up too many times to count. Should have pursued Graphic Design/Visual Communications. I was inducted into the National Technical Honor's Society for it in high school. Told myself that I just wasn't interested in it... wasn't thinking of money/career. Now I have 0 degrees, 0 skills, and 0 ambition.

Feel like there are more people my age and above who, like myself, have zero skills and are too apathetic, and mentally atrophied, feel incapable and lost... but are so drowning in miserable anehedonia that they can't be bothered to type up a post.

The modest life I imagined in my younger years (hidden, because why would anyone care? It's skippable. It's personally almost cathartic to write out though, sad too):

>!I seriously thought that I'd wind up living in a city with weirdos like me, working any rinky-dink job to pay the bills while making experimental and/or noise music and maybe playing shows for fun... silkscreen shirts and art on the side with a girlfriend. That's how simple and low-bar my ideal life was lol... really didn't want much. Instead, I found myself socially inept, living in an area that I have never felt more out of place in with my geriatric father, jobless and completely friendless.!<

I slipped into deep NEETdom in 2020 and feel like I passed the rubicon. My dad is 76...

Too apathetic and anhedonic to pick anything up, and too stupid to figure a way out.

I’m 32 and I am coming to the point where my parent is telling me to go back…. Is it worth it? I’ve been NEET for almost 9 years in a row already (some employment in b/w). I dropped out for the 3rd time 8 years ago. Not even sure what I want to do since computer science is already hard to get into.

Edit: Is it worth it to go back to school?

I had been a neet for a few years but accepted a full time job at the start of 2026. The job is honestly easy, but draining as I work nights 5x a week and have a long commute. My time off is spent doing chores, meal prepping, and running my ebay shop because my full time job does not pay enough. I am exhausted and burned out in every way. Im also frustrated because I lost my progress on my fitness journey - i was doing great until I got sick because I picked up a bug at work and they wouldnt let me stay home and rest. I had to work through it and it lingered for almost a month. Also I couldnt afford a $200 dr note to force them to let me stay home.

Use your time as a neet wisely. Seriously, start with prioritizing your health. Workout if possible, and try to get steps in too. Drink water, try to have somewhat of a sleep schedule and routine. Learn to cook meals you enjoy, especially affordable meals that you can meal prep. I also learned to coupon and budget way better. Take advantage of opportunities like getting those certifications Google used to have some online for free. Learn new skills. Actually ENJOY doing a healthy hobby.

If you do end up doing a job, it will run you into the ground and suck your soul. The skills I learned about small repairs, meal prepping, polishing my ebay skills, etc are a massive help now that im working and busy.

Im honestly way more miserable now than when I was a neet. Im still broke, and im tired often. When I do have time off, im honestly too burnt out to go out and do anything fun or hobbies. The stress honestly gives me stomach aches a lot, and it makes getting back into the gym routine even harder.

I seriously dont know how long I will last like this, its the only job I could get full time I dont have money or time to go back to school and I dont even know what id go back for. Just trying to pay off the credit cards and talking to family about moving home.

I'm a NEET approaching my mid 20s and I slowly want to give up. I have no degree, no job, no friends but I do have support from my family. They're gonna help me get a job. But I just feel like giving up. I've wasted all my youth and my life is still passing me by. I just doomscroll and procrastinate all day. I'm bad at everything and I can't be consistent enough to get good at any hobbies. I'll never catch up to people my age. I'm wondering what it's like for yall on the other side. For those of you in your 30s, if you could get out of NEETdom would you? If you could go back to your 20s, whats one thing you would say to yourself or do to prevent ending up in NEETdom? Important side note, NEETbux don't exist in my country at all so if I never get a job or do anything, I'd have to rely on my family and live with them for the rest of my life. My siblings have kids and their own families and they're also struggling financially, so I don't how good of a plan that is

it really feels like no one is on my side.

• not the doctor, who's supposed to make a strong case for me with this federal disability form that I already got rejected for once
• not the therapist, who I only had a limited number of sessions with, and that person is gone now
• not the social worker, who I wanted support from regarding the disability form, but dropped the ball when things got too inconvenient for them
• not these strangers on reddit who keep offering unsolicited advice that i never asked for
• not my old ex-friend who left me because friendships didn't matter to them

constantly feeling like I have to defend myself, advocate for myself, protect myself, because no one else will protect me. all people want to do is mock me, dismiss me, make me feel small. just as I was starting to make progress with my life, all of these setbacks keep happening, and it ALWAYS involves other people, always.

i don't blame any of you who gave up on dealing with people. who gave up on looking for friends or a partner. who gave up on looking for a profession. who gave up on trying to "change" like all those self-improvement "gurus" love to preach about. those people who isolate themselves for their entire lives because humans are generally not safe. yeah, i see you. my heart bleeds for you guys because most of you have probably been just as hurt by others as i have.

to those of you who don't have a "home" in other people, to those single, isolated folks whose trust in others was completely and irrevocably destroyed: i dedicate this post to you.

Say, for example, I landed a job paying £30,000 a year, which is roughly the median wage in the UK. That is barely enough to live on as a single person, considering rent is typically £900-£1400 where I live and there is a cost of living crisis. Also, why would I want to move out of my parents large house to go and live on my own in a shoebox? As I have said before, my only option is to upskill and emigrate. I should have gone to medical school when I had the chance. I would just leave the country.

Does anyone know what it's about and if it's worth using?

I'm trying to find more communities like this where I am feel at home and vent about issues only fellow NEETs would understand.