Finding Community | A Conversation with Timothy Halligan, Rob Michaelson & Veronica Perez

In this Thanksgiving episode, we pause to give thanks for our families (some we may not have seen since pre-pandemic) and consider the meaning of “family” and “community” – those we are born into and those we create. In a first of its kind report published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Associate Professor of Communication Studies Jeffrey Hall at the University of Kansas has sought to define the amount of time necessary to make a friend as well as how long it typically takes to move through deepening stages of friendship. The study found that it takes roughly 50 hours of time together to move from mere acquaintance to casual friend, 90 hours to go from that stage to simple “friend” status and more than 200 hours before you can consider someone your close friend.

Given how transient society can be these days, the time challenges we all seem to face, and the sheer size of our region, join CivitasLA in conversation with three Angelenos (Timothy Halligan, Rancho Park; Rob Michaelson, Laurel Canyon; and Veronica Perez, Echo Park) as we discuss the challenge of finding one’s tribe and we hear their perspectives on the subject and learn about their LA journeys and respective paths to “finding community” in our diverse and vast region.