It's nice to look out the window at planes but the novelty wears off....I think most would agree area is more challenging hence more rewarding.
Regarding making friends out side the ops room: Yahoo there's no law against making friends however big your operation!!!!
In fact to go one step further it's better to be at a large unit IMHO since there's bound to be a few people you get on great with. If you go to an airport and there's only 5-10 on your watch and you don't have much in common with any of them then work could become a real drag!!!