Is coordinating plans with one or two friends, locally, possible? I'm reflecting hard on my late teens. My parents, unless I had plans, sports or movie nights,etc, would drag me to Maine, every weekend. My stepdads father passed away in my early teens and he felt obligated to help his widowed mom, plus my mom enjoyed tending to the house, with cleaning, cooking and seasonal landscaping..
There was no unlimited talk and text back then, never mind internet,which came when i was in college. That said, coordination was key. With the right combination of a variety of friends, plans as simple as window shopping at the mall, going to movies, which is pricier now immensely, having them over, you over there, takes time, but maybe you don't get last minute planning, but coordinated planning instead.
Sometimes when you want something badly enough, gotta be a go getter. It's also a networking skill. Isn't easy,certainly a challenge.

As far as him only complimenting looks, but not core attributes. Guys like that are a dime a dozen.