If rain were a major impediment to functioning Ireland and NL should be abandoned. But it isn't. Rain is a minor nuisance. As for your friendships: in the past people would usually be good friends with people living close to them because they lacked transport. I have friends all over the world on account of the internet and I'm well aware that going to visit them is in many cases out of the question. That's much easier to decide when they are 100's (or even 1000's) of km away but the principle remains.