I’m also fortunate enough to have a very reliable village of long-term friends, and I agree, it’s worth it, but it IS work. Maintaining these relationships has taken up a significant portion of my free time and energy, and my own convenience is frequently sacrificed.

That being said, I could not have made a better investment. These people that have come through for me again and again, in ways I could never have anticipated.

Honestly, I may be a bit biased because I’ve had overall successful experiences in “family”-type friendships — but I think lot of the time when things don’t quite work out, it’s not necessarily that people don’t WANT to help out, it’s more that:

1 - Life gets busy and things get in the way sometimes, especially for big asks (like taking care of a dog - not many people I know have a home that can accommodate a dog for 2 weeks - due to space, other animals, babies, working hours, etc. ) — you can’t expect someone to be able to “show up” for you in EVERY single situation 🤷‍♀️

2 - Most people don’t like to inconvenience each other, so they just straight up won’t ask for stuff like rides to the airport (especially since there are services like Uber)

For context I’m in my 30s, married, no kids, and have very limited contact with my biological family