I am working remotely for 15 years, but from time to time I go to the local office; when I go to lunch, I just socialize with anyone that I see there and I either have an informal affinity (calling them friends may be too much) or I want to discuss a light business matter that does not require a formal meeting, but can be discussed over lunch.
Also I have a coworker in my team that is in the same city, but the opposite part, around 2 hour drive from me to his place. If we want to have lunch, we waste a lot of time (1 hour per direction for each of us); if we are in the office in the same day, there is zero cost.
I found small chat over lunch or a coffee break to be very effective in building relations with people you don't directly work with. This helped me many times in the past when I had to talk to someone and it was not a cold approach, so they made time to talk to me and help.
Zero additional cost. You each pay 2 hours a day in commuting to get to the office. Take those two hours that you get back EVERY DAY and make friends within walking distance.
It is not about making friends, it is about relations with the people I work with. More than 10 years ago I saved someone's job just by simply clearing a serious misunderstanding with people I knew.
Also I have a coworker in my team that is in the same city, but the opposite part, around 2 hour drive from me to his place. If we want to have lunch, we waste a lot of time (1 hour per direction for each of us); if we are in the office in the same day, there is zero cost.
I found small chat over lunch or a coffee break to be very effective in building relations with people you don't directly work with. This helped me many times in the past when I had to talk to someone and it was not a cold approach, so they made time to talk to me and help.