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I am a baal teshuvah for over 3 years; all of my friends are secular. After becoming religious I lost a lot of the interests that my secular friends are into and hence have not much in common with them. Plus the stuff they talk about is usually inappropriate.
When I go to shul most people are outside my age range. Is having close friends a non-Jewish past time? Or are there places that one can frequent to develop strong relationships with fellow like-minded Jews?
The above answer is excellent. One thing many shuls provide are shiurim (classes) on various subjects, and this another excellent way to meet a friendly group of people.
If your neighborhood has a JCC, this can be another means to meet people. Besides classes, many have sports, art, or other activities.
Volunteering on a Jewish project is another way. My neighborhood has a Tomchei Shabbat which is a group that distributes food packages on Thursday nights to needy people so that they have food for Shabbat. They always need drivers, packers, arrangers, etc. and it is run by a large group of Jewish volunteers. See if your neighborhood has some type of organization like this where you can volunteer. You'll meet a great group of people and, I can tell you that there is nothing that makes you feel better than knowing you helped out someone else at the same time!
Shul is a great place to develop long-lasting friendships, but try to find a shul that has people in your age group. If you live in a community where there aren't a lot of options, maybe look into relocating.
As for wondering if having close friends is a non-Jewish pastime... Yes and no. As frum jews, our lives are so caught up with raising our large families, working to support them, and trying to fit anything else into the limited time in between those. So spending time with friends is for the most part reserved for Shabbos when the hustle and bustle of life comes to a halt.
We are not anti-social, just usually too busy busy busy to have time for hanging out with friends. That doesn't mean you can't arrange a time to get together for coffee or something.
Good luck!
Their is an obligation to buy a friend
Practically speaking you can go to a Bais medrish (learning place) or Bais knesses (shoul)
