I left a lot of friends behind to take my job 19 years ago. When you leave somewhere and moved half way across the country, you are as good as dead to your friends. People seem to assume that you will somehow be swallowed by the teeming masses of big cities and humidity. When I announced my decision to move, all my friends did the traditional sobbing and letter promising. No one stayed in touch except for one friend. Maybe it's a guy thing, my wife still keeps in touch with all her old friends.