Did the other kids in your neighborhood mostly play in their backyards or inside at home?
When I was a kid, we were expected to go out and play in the front yard, or the street, or go ride our bikes to a park or open field or creek or convenience store, with the main restriction being that we be back for meals. Most suburbs kids were what would now be called a "free range" kid.
When families would go to a sporting event, or to a movie, or on a camping trip, it was common for their kids to be allowed to invite a friend to come along. There was enough interaction between the kids of different families that the parents had to talk on occasion, and so families tended to become acquainted somewhat through the relationships among their kids. If their kids participated in organized sports, parents would meet and talk with other parents in the stands while watching the games.
I wonder if the decline in free range kids is what caused the empty parks and insular behavior you experienced?
We're back in the city now, not the downtown corridor but where the residential apartment buildings are. Lots of kids here. 3 parks within walking distance. 1 has an Olympic pool and kids splash pool. And in the week he's been enrolled lots of new friends. He's learning Spanish as well, not school Spanish but actual living Spanish. If he's like his father he'll learn the curse words first :-)
I think the poor planning of suburban neighborhoods caused the decline. Parks are too far apart. There are no sidewalks. Everyone is in a cul-de-sac making it difficult to pass by. I believe the suburbs are designed to be actively hostile to social interaction. This is the same adults as well as kids.
In Austin we paid $406 million in state recapture in 2016. That's one third of AISD's budget for the year. That money doesn't come back to us, to be clear. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar were in place in other states.
In addition, I believe the state has plenty of laws that control what each county can do tax-wise, I'm too lazy to find them all right now. My point is that the state matters a lot.
(Note: I'm not saying that I'm against any of this, necessarily.)
I'm in a low tax state which means the schools are chronically underfunded. Our school in the suburbs relied on parent fundraising to cover a lot of extracurricular stuff. Our city school relies on the density of the student body and the density of property taxes to fund extracurricular programs. It seems like everyday he's sent home with something he wants to sign up for. We sold he car, bought bikes, and ride everywhere including the park.
We gave the suburbs a shot, it didn't work, so we left. My brother, on the other hand loves it. Big house for him and his spouse, the kids, and their dirt bikes.