for a lot of people (me included), a cheap second hand thinkpad (or dell pro) with a light distro would be more than enough to cover their computing needs for years.

yeah, it’s more about finding open minded people with empathy (and be open minded and empathic ourself) more than finding people just like us. Embracing differences, respecting and understanding eachother is key. There are plenty of people out there who keep their kids to themself and have plenty of other interests, it’s easier to meet them if we don’t push them away in the first place (just like they don’t push us way fro being child free).