I have found it difficult to maintain. Over the years, a group of us got together locally. I was very close with a couple of them, but after a while it seems one by one they went on their own way, and didn't want to take me with them, lol... Maybe it is something with me, or perhaps homesteading is populated by loners. Honestly, all I ever did was try to be a true friend. It's a real sadness for me.