I like the idea of being somewhat casually social with people I work with remotely or otherwise, but what I wouldn't rely on is those people becoming "friends",

I like the idea of being somewhat casually social with people I work with remotely or otherwise, but what I wouldn't rely on is those people becoming "friends", unless there's a series of other factors that exist whereby if we'd met in any other context, we'd have become friends anyway. I don't think it's impossible to make long term friends with coworkers, but it just seems highly unlikely unless ad others mentioned, there's a solid shared struggle. That's why if my social circle is lacking, I'll try and meet my coworker's friends.