You are right but as you mention it is a show. In sitcom land everyone stays close together.

@MrCharmingMan said:

This group of friends remaining close friends and living close by doesn't really happen.

I'll add to that especially in LA, well the LA area, Pasadena to be exact.

Most people move away and move around until they find their permanent real home where they'll live until they retire and croak. Yeah I know this is just a show, but its just not that common. Yeah I know most of them work together but people quit and switch jobs more frequently especially these days.

It happens in more close knit communities in the suburbs. Most of the people I grew up with went to HS with me and then scattered to different colleges afterward.

I would say the majority of my childhood friends likely still live in the same state.

@znexyish said:

You are right but as you mention it is a show. In sitcom land everyone stays close together.

Yeah if BBT was more realistic. They'd all probably move on to bigger better jobs by now. Sheldon would probably be the president of some big Train company or something like that.

Maybe Howard would move to Houston and get some sweet gig at NASA.

Penny I could see staying in LA since her real true dream is to be an actress. Leonard would stay as well since he couldn't possibly land a hotter chick lol.

Raj, would probably move to like Canada where Indians are more respected or where it be easier for him to date?

Once you get married and have kids you don't live in an apartment anymore especially in LA. you'd definitely be living in the burbs.

@CalabrianQueen said:

@MrCharmingMan said:

This group of friends remaining close friends and living close by doesn't really happen.

I'll add to that especially in LA, well the LA area, Pasadena to be exact.

Most people move away and move around until they find their permanent real home where they'll live until they retire and croak. Yeah I know this is just a show, but its just not that common. Yeah I know most of them work together but people quit and switch jobs more frequently especially these days.

It happens in more close knit communities in the suburbs. Most of the people I grew up with went to HS with me and then scattered to different colleges afterward.

I would say the majority of my childhood friends likely still live in the same state.

What state is that my friend?

Many sitcoms portray close friendships in what I consider an unrealistic way, either living in the same area/building or getting together several times a week. How I Met Your Mother, Friends, Seinfeld, Living Single, Girlfriends - I just don't know anyone who has friends that they are so close to that they walk in the door without knocking, or friends that they see nearly every day. Working together is a possibility, because long-term jobs do still exist, but yes, nowadays it's more likely that at least one or two in the group would move on to something else. Doesn't mean they couldn't stay friends, but frequent contact would depend on where the new job was located.

Honestly, all that closeness would drive me crazy. I see my husband and my sister (who lives with us) every day, and that's all I need on a regular basis. I'm a terrible friend - I never want to hang out or do things. I'd rather have someone come over to my house, and even then, maybe every couple of months or so is plenty.

@Gothish520 said:

Many sitcoms portray close friendships in what I consider an unrealistic way, either living in the same area/building or getting together several times a week. How I Met Your Mother, Friends, Seinfeld, Living Single, Girlfriends - I just don't know anyone who has friends that they are so close to that they walk in the door without knocking, or friends that they see nearly every day. Working together is a possibility, because long-term jobs do still exist, but yes, nowadays it's more likely that at least one or two in the group would move on to something else. Doesn't mean they couldn't stay friends, but frequent contact would depend on where the new job was located.

Honestly, all that closeness would drive me crazy. I see my husband and my sister (who lives with us) every day, and that's all I need on a regular basis. I'm a terrible friend - I never want to hang out or do things. I'd rather have someone come over to my house, and even then, maybe every couple of months or so is plenty.

LMAO! Brilliant response and totally honest I love it!

To your point I did have a former co-worker who was very odd he lived in this weird apartment complex where all the neighbors were very close and they had an open door policy where no one was allowed to lock their doors. Like WTF? Who would agree to that? You'd have all your valuables stolen within 48 hours LOL. Also what if you were getting lucky one night and your neighbor just walks in on you???

What I do love about How I Met Your Mother was how good of friends they were. You can tell even though they had their ups and downs and they feel Barney gets them into all kinds of trouble, in the end they are all TRUE friends and have each other's backs. I mean thats all you need in life is a few good friends. Maybe one close friend you can always depend on and few more close by.

Ideally it would be best to have your spouse as your best friend as well so theres not tension between your best friend and your spouse.

But I do see most group of friends breaking up once they do get married and have kids. Once you get married and have kids theres literally no time to hang out anymore and all you want to do is catch up on sleep!

@MrCharmingMan said:

This group of friends remaining close friends and living close by doesn't really happen.

I'll add to that especially in LA, well the LA area, Pasadena to be exact.

Most people move away and move around until they find their permanent real home where they'll live until they retire and croak. Yeah I know this is just a show, but its just not that common. Yeah I know most of them work together but people quit and switch jobs more frequently especially these days.

Probably more likely to happen if they become close friends AFTER becoming adults--established adults--somewhat established adults.

Often work-friends also become out-side-work-friends--similar interests/similar aspirations/etc.; kind of a natural progression to get "caught up" in each other lives. After all, the guys are not/were not so outgoing/socially adept that they would be eager to move on to other groups and spread-their-wings. And, considering how long it has taken them to latch on to meaningful outside relationships, them "clinging" to each other is entirely believable.

As for quitting/switching jobs frequently, some profession have a lot less turnover than others. The guys work at a prestigious university doing what they love--grass doesn't get much greener than that. Plus, there is that "gold ring" known as tenure. They can't keep hoping around every few years if they expect to land one of those babies.

Of course once a core member pairs-up with an outsider it can go either way: Either that outsider is brought into the fold, or the core person gradually slips away. In my experience gradually slips away is more likely.

@FormerlyKnownAs said:

@MrCharmingMan said:

This group of friends remaining close friends and living close by doesn't really happen.

I'll add to that especially in LA, well the LA area, Pasadena to be exact.

Most people move away and move around until they find their permanent real home where they'll live until they retire and croak. Yeah I know this is just a show, but its just not that common. Yeah I know most of them work together but people quit and switch jobs more frequently especially these days.

Probably more likely to happen if they become close friends AFTER becoming adults--established adults--somewhat established adults.

Often work-friends also become out-side-work-friends--similar interests/similar aspirations/etc.; kind of a natural progression to get "caught up" in each other lives. After all, the guys are not/were not so outgoing/socially adept that they would be eager to move on to other groups and spread-their-wings. And, considering how long it has taken them to latch on to meaningful outside relationships, them "clinging" to each other is entirely believable.

As for quitting/switching jobs frequently, some profession have a lot less turnover than others. The guys work at a prestigious university doing what they love--grass doesn't get much greener than that. Plus, there is that "gold ring" known as tenure. They can't keep hoping around every few years if they expect to land one of those babies.

---

Of course once a core member pairs-up with an outsider it can go either way: Either that outsider is brought into the fold, or the core person gradually slips away. In my experience gradually slips away is more likely.

Thats a great point I remember all of my professors would go for the tenure and once they landed it they just held their head down and took all the politics and drama aside. The ones who did not make tenure would bounce around from school to school.

The thing is I lived in LA and so did a lot of my friends and we all moved away into the burbs and even up to the Bay area. There is something about LA that drives people away once they get out of their 20's.