Watch the transfer auctions, because they are all on your server. I've picked up loads of same level friends from there. I'm in London, but I've got several other (in-game) friends from England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Denmark, Sweden etc. Most of them are genuine players of the game and I don't have problems with unwanted friendlies. If a new "friend" should make a friendly that I didn't want, I just unfriend them immediately. But that rarely happens.