I think I'm a cultural misfit. I've been friends to this day with a group that I worked with at a game company 30 years ago and I was there for one year. And I'll regularly go to lunch with co-workers. But doing something after work with my co-workers hasn't been much of a thing since that game company job.

I don't smoke, I don't drink (much) or do drugs, I don't party where smoking and drinking are the main activities. And these are typical activities in my area as there's not much to do here. So I spend time with my wife and dog and hang out with gamers and photographers. Most of my friendships are kept current via email and the phone since I'm 500-600+ miles from my friends.

I guess I would need to acquire some vices that are destructive to my health, which already has plenty of problems, if I wanted to be more sociable.

I think I'll remain a misfit. New hires don't need to immediately slide in and be comfortable with the existing social climate in the work place, but neither should they be at right angles to what's already in place.