Commoditization of "home" is probably the number one culprit. Nobody wants to make a decision with the largest investment they have based around where their fri

Commoditization of "home" is probably the number one culprit. Nobody wants to make a decision with the largest investment they have based around where their friends live right now (especially when they might react to market conditions and move in 1-2 years afterward). And I'm not sure it's THAT new -- seems more like in the past, people befriended those they lived near, rather than necessarily moving near people they were already friends with. Institutions like churches and other community programs facilitated this. Meanwhile, a crumbling or defunding of such programs or just lack of interest (thinking "community house" activities from my youth), coupled with the divisive effect of social media, seem to have had a real chilling effect on this community building. That, and sheer density. Anyone that went from a small school to a big school knows that sometimes it's easier to feel all alone on a campus of 40,000 than it is on a campus of 300 (unless you're just totally ostracized at the small school).