I hear ya. I’ve not had a going out crew since my mid 20s. That was in Brum - a mix of my old school pals and MsWza’s ex-uni lot (and people we inevitably were out with through them). But they all kinda moved away to do their thing. Then/So we moved to Glasgow. Haven’t really established a “Hey fancy a drink/Wanna go to that gig” crew here. Had a short-lived proto version of it with a couple of acquaintances picked up through tentative gig-going links and also with some (now ex-)DiSers. Those half-dozen peeps all moved away before anything resembling solid close mate status could develop. I know a good few folk (through activities and local interests) to chat to when I meet 'em out and about - none are mates, though. But… meh. Because MsWza is the best pal I could ever hope for. (Couldn’t say how things would have panned out without her - might have upped my friendmaking game, might not have.) And now, in my late 30s, with MiniWza newly on the scene, I’ve not really got the time to devote to seeking out and fostering new friendships. The pricks would inevitably move away anyway. Maybe parenthood opens a whole line of new potential in this arena? As it is, the group of people I think of as my half-dozen closest friends (the ones you slip back into the groove with, no matter how long it’s been) are pals I’ve known from primary school age, and they’re scattered across just about every continent of the globe. (Such is the repellant nature of a youth spent in Lincolnshire - you run away as far as you can, lest it sucks you into it’s Brexity void.) We basically couldn’t be further apart geographically. So be it.
tl;dr - Every prick moves to somewhere else before very long so creating and maintain a circle of local friends is fucking hard going.
