Off topic, pardon me!
DA-I think you're right, (in many cases) it is a generational thing along with mobility and decrease in agricultural based communities. The difference is that my family (grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins) was so HUGE, we never had to work at establishing outside relationships. Of course
I'll never have friends like I did in college but that's partly because I'm not as open as I was and I honestly believe being educated in a different type of environment than Louisiana offers
makes finding common ground/interests more difficult.
Valkyrie-I agree with what Munchkin03 said, too -- most of my friends are scattered all over the country and as I've gotten older it has become harder to meet people with whom I have anything in common.
I'm NOT a Southern Belle-Sometimes I want to SCREAM get over your Deb Ball or the football game you played 30 years ago and save it for a reunion! My, how they DO go on and on and on...!
Munchkin03-Most people aren't attached to their hometown or even home state as much as our grandparents were, and as a result, different levels of cohesion between social groups occurs. You don't have that group of hometown or college buds to fall back on, because everyone's scattered. True-especially about the different levels of cohesion!
Most of our real friends are transplants because the old lines are living in and ON the past. I guess some people are happier remembering than creating new memories.