I live in a world in which I have a very, very diverse group of friends.
I don't see it as a bad thing that I surround myself with edgy people. Because they're interesting.
I don't divide my reading into demographic categories, any more than I'd divide my friends into groups along ethnic or sexual lines. The thing I look for most is a sense of literary rawness - bareback fiction, if you will.
As for my 'real life,' yes, I do have friends who are different from me, and I find it refreshing being around them.
Some of my oldest friends are actors. But that's not the only place my friends come from.
I have friends who are in the posh category and some who are in the not-at-all-posh category, and some who you would find it very hard to get any sort of handle on. But I am lucky to have any friends, of course.
I have lots of friends and, like me, they're not married. So my kids have lots of godparents - men and women, gay and straight. My loft is always filled with people helping me out with them and loving them.
Try to have as diverse group of friends as possible and don't get into the the clique scenario.
I have sane friends, solvent friends, foodie friends, and friends who can take time off in the week, but I don't know one single person who ticks all those boxes.
