Do you have a friendly relationship with the people who sit near you at work?

I find it odd to sit right next to someone for a long period of time and not share some friendly conversation. We do not need to be close friends but just the fact that we are so close physically seems like a good reason to act and be friendly to each other. Others seem to disagree.

I have shared cubicals and offices with people who made an effort to not say anything to me at all. They had no reason to dislike me and maybe thought I was OK but saw do reason to talk to me because they thought it was un-necesary.

What do you think about this issue? Would you feel uncomfortable sitting next to someone and not ever talking? Is it rude or unusual?

There's a girl in our office who's from a different culture than the rest of us. She doesn't say good morning, she doesn't go out of her way to talk to any of us, yet she's friendly and intelligent when spoke to. I wish she would at least acknowledge us when she comes in in the mornings, but that's just her and I think we all make a point of just not letting it get to us.

If I sat next to someone who didn't say good morning or occasionally make small talk or seem the slightest interested in me, it would make for a bad working relationship. I wouldn't feel comfortable even talking to her about work issues because she's made herself unapproachable. I agree you don't have to be best friends, but a lot of people go the other way and are just rude (in their unfriendliness).

I usually had good relationships with people nearby, but we were focused on our work so we didn't have much time for socializing; then at another job I sat next to a girl I really loathed but had to get along with, but we were allowed to wear headphones so it wasn't too bad.
But you can always be cordial...just a smile and nod is sufficient.

That is very odd to me. I've never had a job where I wasn't friendly with my coworkers...even the ones who don't sit right next to me. It would be strange to me to work somewhere and not have some sort of relationship with the person right next to me.