Should more of us be moving to live near friends?

Less of us should be discounting the value of investing in new, long-term friendships, in the second or third place we live, and stop discounting the impact of arbitrarily moving away for cheaper or more isolated pastures just because we work remotely. There's a threshold past which it's worth considering how much is worth it to remain, but for many it seems like a no-brainer financial consideration, and they don't really seem to have tried to integrate within their neighborhood, perhaps because they knew they'd eventually be forced out by the landed gentry. I'd personally never move back to my home city, I'm happy in the metropolis I moved to, but have put in a hell of a lot time and energy into forming a strong social circle and be present in my community, and I probably wouldn't throw that away just to own a house somewhere in the boonies, but I also wouldn't spend millions to get a 2 bedroom condo, so it's an awkward place to be in one's thirties.

Yes of course. Intentional communities of like minded people are the alternative to atomarisation of strangers living next to strangers with fake smiles and talking behind the back as the standard social interaction.

Easier said then done, though in most cases, but worth it wherever possible.

I would love to, but I come from a place where intellectual pursuits are not valued, so I would lose out on that front if I moved back. I’m the type who needs to always be learning. So I would always need to be in a big city.

Alain Bertaud, the urbanist, recently said, “the big contribution of cities is randomness.” And he continues: “You don't know what to expect. You don't know who you will meet. And, it's precisely because you meet people who are different from you, who have different ideas. Sometime even it could be obnoxious people. I think obnoxious people — I mean, what I consider obnoxious — are necessary in order to stimulate.”

In North America, there is a very strong cultural preference to isolate oneself (probably a residual effect of the frontier spirit). Hence a strong preference for suburban single family homes with backyards (“for the kids and the dog”) and which results in spread out developments where people rarely have to interact. That’s fine — but realize that’s a cultural preference.

I grew up in a house with no backyard and had an idyllic childhood. I knew my neighbors and biked to the playground. I was as happy as a clam. To this day, I don’t feel any need to own a house with a backyard. That is also a cultural preference.

Or, in California, buy a single-family urban home and subdivide it under SB-9.

you expected many poor people here on HN? :)