Why did Washington want to pursue a policy of neutrality?

At the time of George Washington, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was very difficult to travel across the Atlantic Ocean, and as a result, Europe was effectively quite far away. This was long before what is now known as the global village. As a result, there was no need for the US to waste its resources by getting involved in the endless European conflicts and wars. It would be possible to argue that even when the US did finally get involved in a big way, by entering into WW I, it wasn't really necessary, and the US could have left it to the Europeans to sort out their own problems.