D1cko, I have found that making friends is not an easy thing to do. The reason is most people you meet and get on with will only be associates. Associates because they are generally only people you associate with when doing a certain things eg: Gym, Cars, like minded interests etc. But I have also realized that the only way to meet with people and see if a 'real' friendship is on the cards is by having those associations in the first place.
An example; I met my best mate whilst competing in trail bike racing, we were both into dirt bikes etc. 10yrs later we are still great mates and he still races and loves the dirt bikes. I don't ride anymore but we stayed in contact and catch up from time to time because of the association we had in the first place. We would also chill out/go out and just do shit sometimes, yet we actually have no associated interests anymore besides each others company.
Big prob for me now is he is a 6hr drive away, so I know how you feel mate. I have very few mates where I live atm (none really, just associates). Can be a bit of a downer at times, but I made a commitment to the missus and kids to be here for a while. That 'while' is nearly up and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life as I have been allot lonelier than my wife etc.
So as others have said, the only real way to meet people is to go out and do things you love to do, this way you will have the associated 'mate-ship' involved with the people you meet along the way, and also generally and genuinely make new friends.
It's a funny thing about people today, there are more of us than ever before, yet we can be so alone at times.