Group friendship dynamics after moving away from an area

[HarvardHarvey]

I moved away from an area several years ago and from the start only stayed in contact with a handful of people from a very large friendship group that I had been on the edge of.

After a year or so it was obvious which people were friends I could talk to, which people only kept in contact because we had friends in common, and which people were never the first to contact me.

In the end I only stayed in contact with friends I could talk to. I actively avoided a few others and just sent polite, short replies to others.

The years passed. I realise now that staying in touch with some friends but not with their friends has made things a bit awkward. I think I was unrealistic to imagine it wouldn’t be an issue.

You are where you are OP.

A lot of people have friends determined by geography, if you don't see them very often and you chose to cut them out of your life what's the problem?

Be honest with the friends you have.
Don't worry about the rest, it's probably not as much of a big deal as you think.

Thanks @frozendaisy