Looking good SIR SIG.
The closeness of Bajor was always an oddity to me, but an additional element I considered was that because of the ongoing threats from Romulus and Qo'noS, the area "east" of the core worlds is very well explored and settled, simply to contain the threats. Expansion would tend to follow the borders as both sides try to outflank the other. Following the peace with the Klingons, and the withdrawal of the Romulans, expansion begins in a more concerted manner to the "west" - before running smack into the Cardies. Most modern expansion is probably to "north" and "west" and the Fed probably goes quite a long way in that direction.
Then again, I do favour the "warp lane" theory (Chi factor and all that), so Bajor could be somewhat further away on that basis. If not, it could be that Bajor is quite close, but expansion followed the warp lanes as they were discovered. Bajor is not on one from Earth, so contact was relatively late.
Jon
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea is asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song.
Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
THE DOCTOR, "Survival" (Doctor Who)