I’m a American living in the US and even I can only guess which date they meant. Everyone should just use the three letter month instead of the number when writing for other humans.
Presumably they are referring to the US election day, but I feel like that was hardly an unexpected facepalm result, considering how many political facepalm moments there were along the way leading up to it.
It’s totally possible to build a new network of great friends at literally any point in your life! I have moved multiple times over the years to entirely different regions where I knew zero people and I have always eventually found new friends. (I’m also autistic and introverted, so if I can do it, most people probably can.)
Sometimes it might take a while to find the activities you like, and thus the people who share your interests, but they’re out there! If nothing else, it helps to start going on a regular basis to a local bar that hosts live music and just nurse a drink (even a soda if you’re sober) and hang out, you’ll start sussing out the social fabric in the area pretty quick.
Good luck, you can do it!