Midwesterners suffering from loneliness in the South. Are we crazy to move back home?

Spouse and I are both from the Midwest and relocated to the Triangle area of NC for work. We have given it our best shot to make friends. We reach out to neighbors (trying to initiate by hosting barbecues, baking Christmas cookies, etc). We’ve visited different churches. We’ve tried volunteering, attending community events, etc.

What we have found is people here are very friendly in public, but no one wants to actually be friends. Most of the people we meet already have their established friend groups and aren’t interested in adding more friends it seems. We get ghosted, people don’t reciprocate. It’s been years, and we really feel mentally checked out and ready to give up on trying to meet people.

Growing up in the Midwest, everyone always talked about leaving and moving somewhere warm. Are we crazy to think that things will get better if we move back home? Am I valid in feeling like it can be hard to assimilate to the southern culture and break into friend groups? I know making friends is hard in your 30s but it feels especially tough here.