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I agree. It feels much better to watch because I find laugh tracks (like the one in Friends) really annoying.
New girl relies far too much on awkward, cringe, humour to be actively funny. With too many larger than life charactures. 
Friends feels more like a comedy where you could actually imagine being in. >

That's interesting coz one of the main reasons I prefer New Girl is exactly for the reason you mentioned you don't. I can relate myself more to New Girl than Friends. Friends seems too out of touch with reality. >

Out of curiosity how old are you? >

I'm 26! >

A good 10 years younger than me then. I wonder if it's a generational thing. >

New girl falls off harder and quicker