Another factor in making friends is the high heat found in places like Florida and Texas. It is simply not pleasant spending time outside for much of the year. As a result, kids make fewer friends.
In California, people can be outside more, making the melting pot work much faster.
Do kids venture outside anymore? I recall a survey where younger people prefer facetime to actually being physically present with each other.
I grew up, and still live in Oklahoma. Lived many years about 30 miles north of the Red River (border between OK and TX. Heat in Oklahoma is on par with heat in Texas. The heat never hindered my outdoor activities when I was a kid. In fact, during the summer break, I was outside from early morning until dinner time. We never stayed inside. Heat or not...we were outside. All my friends played outside, all summer long.
not really in calif most kids and adults are gamers and spend a lot of time inside