Baseball players hang out with other baseball players because baseball is a team sport. Brokers hang out with other brokers because it takes two brokers to make a trade. Waiters hang out with other actors because, well, because wannabes are kind of hopeless that way.
But writers, generally speaking, work alone. A writer may socialize with other writers, may pick up useful scuttlebutt about marketing, but will not improve as a writer by hanging out with other writers. (Workshops do not count as 'hanging out'. Besides, my own observations suggest that workshops are far better places to learn networking skills than writing skills.)
Writers don't need other writers in person. They need access to the work of other writers. When you're trying to read a book with a critical eye, having the flesh-and-blood author in the room usually just gets in the way.
