I also worked solo -- at home for one year and in a private office at a coworking space alone, and then with an officemate, and now finally working at a company in an office. Each incremental step has been better than the next and I do not want to go back. Working solo at home was especially horrible (and I'm an introvert). I would like to have flexibility, i.e. Fridays at home (or off totally) would be ideal.

ditto. I worked remotely for 10 months and don't plan to do it again. There is no substitute of the good feeling of hanging out together with team mates at same place.

Are you hanging out or working?

Don't be obtuse. You know it is not a binary thing. Work ebbs and flows throughout a day. No one works exactly from 8-12 then 1-5 and goes home. So working and hanging out can happen at work.

Good point, but it would be a much better comment without the first 5 unduly personal words.

I found that the best way to deal with the social isolation is to plan lots of coffees with friends and former colleagues, and plan to attend lots of meetups.

Gets me dressed and out of the house.

This is key. Working in the office, social interaction is almost a passive activity, ie the water cooler chat about the weekend trip away to London to see musical.

When working remote, it becomes conscious effort to seek out social activity and to connect. This extra step is difficult for some.