Official "Seattle Freeze" Discussion Thread (Renton, Walla Walla: insurance, organic)

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I grew up in the Garden State....it's not just an urban area thing...the Seattle Freeze is real, it's just different from the NJ Guido or preppie thing, it's more like a reserve or shyness rather than an outright coldness...but...I've lived in the Seattle area for 31 years and I've adjusted and adapted...and to defend folks in New Jersey:
yes, there are some incredible ignoramuses there, but also smart, nice people who actually like to be outdoors and are involved environmentally.
I also find many of my fellow Jerseyites to be refreshingly unpretensious , like " Hey,we're from New Jersey, what do we have to feel snobby about?"

Many, many years ago I was approached by a couple from Hopewell, NJ in downtown, Seattle...they were lost and asking for directions. We talked for quite a while and ended up exchanging address. Over the years we have become very good friends and visit each other about once a year. Some years they come out here, some years I go back there and each time I've been back there I'm struck by how unpretentious I've found most people back there to be.

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I grew up in the Garden State....it's not just an urban area thing...the Seattle Freeze is real, it's just different from the NJ Guido or preppie thing, it's more like a reserve or shyness rather than an outright coldness...but...I've lived in the Seattle area for 31 years and I've adjusted and adapted...and to defend folks in New Jersey:
yes, there are some incredible ignoramuses there, but also smart, nice people who actually like to be outdoors and are involved environmentally.
I also find many of my fellow Jerseyites to be refreshingly unpretensious , like " Hey,we're from New Jersey, what do we have to feel snobby about?"

Well, the Jersey Halt isn't about being "shy" or "reserved", but is about shutting people off and HALTING communication when the guido or preppie finds that the person in question has views which are even slightly different than those of 95% of the state's population. It's all good, until they find out that I actually read books just for the fun of it...and then they look at me like I just said that I am a card-carrying member of NAMBLA and never speak to me again. I would much rather be around people who are reserved and need warming up than people who are cool until they find that I am not "one of them". As for the outdoors...in the extreme south, like Lambertville, or the extreme North, maybe, but in central/northern Jersey, the only hiking people do is through the mall.

And yes, Jerseyians do like to knock Jersey...BUT NEVER THEMESELVES. This is a small state with HUGE egos...ever see the "my new haircut" video? Well, when one considers that that is what 95% of Jersey people are like, you can understand why I HAVE to move.
YouTube - My New Haircut

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I grew up in the Garden State....it's not just an urban area thing...the Seattle Freeze is real, it's just different from the NJ Guido or preppie thing, it's more like a reserve or shyness rather than an outright coldness...but...I've lived in the Seattle area for 31 years and I've adjusted and adapted...and to defend folks in New Jersey:
yes, there are some incredible ignoramuses there, but also smart, nice people who actually like to be outdoors and are involved environmentally.
I also find many of my fellow Jerseyites to be refreshingly unpretensious , like " Hey,we're from New Jersey, what do we have to feel snobby about?"

Originally Posted by seattlerain

Many, many years ago I was approached by a couple from Hopewell, NJ in downtown, Seattle...they were lost and asking for directions. We talked for quite a while and ended up exchanging address. Over the years we have become very good friends and visit each other about once a year. Some years they come out here, some years I go back there and each time I've been back there I'm struck by how unpretentious I've found most people back there to be.

"Unpretentious", is a different way of putting it. Jerseyians are unpretentious in that they want as many people around them stroking their huge egos as possible, and no one is not "good enough" to to tell them how great their deck of new car looks or how hot their girlfriend is. If you can conform, Jersey is alright...if you are like me, and actually like hiking and the woods and books and don't like going to the beach and oggling girls with too much hairspray and not enough close on, you can expect to have a lonely life ahead of you...and by all mean, DO NOT look at Joey or Vinnie's girl Angie the wrong way, or he'll say "WHATCH YA LOOKIN AT!?"

I cannot imagine a place in America people worse than here.

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by victorianpunk

"Unpretentious", is a different way of putting it. Jerseyians are unpretentious in that they want as many people around them stroking their huge egos as possible, and no one is not "good enough" to to tell them how great their deck of new car looks or how hot their girlfriend is. If you can conform, Jersey is alright...if you are like me, and actually like hiking and the woods and books and don't like going to the beach and oggling girls with too much hairspray and not enough close on, you can expect to have a lonely life ahead of you...and by all mean, DO NOT look at Joey or Vinnie's girl Angie the wrong way, or he'll say "WHATCH YA LOOKIN AT!?"

I cannot imagine a place in America people worse than here.

I lived in Clifton, NJ for over a year in the late 90s, and I didn't experience any of the things you're talking about. I had awesome neighbors, and really enjoyed the time I spent there. I miss it often.

V. =)

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by theRain

I agree with the previous poster, that people are living their own life, and keep busy. This doesn't mean we don't volunteer in our community, or are recluses. It is just an area with lots to do, and we aren't spending too much time trying to entertain everyone else. I also agree that you get the same in any church, anywhere. People are friendly, but there are cliques and it is hard to break into them. Us Seattle Freeze folks really aren't that bad! If you like to do the same things we do, we may get better acquainted. Don't let this stop you from moving here, but each region does have its own vibe. You can't always know if it is for you, before taking the plunge.
I do not believe that the Freeze phenomenon is restricted to the city limits of Seattle; I think it is a regional affliction!

I have never heard of a church that would not welcome someone willing to do some work! Ditto an elementary school.

[ElektroDragon]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

I lived in Clifton, NJ for over a year in the late 90s, and I didn't experience any of the things you're talking about. I had awesome neighbors, and really enjoyed the time I spent there. I miss it often.

V. =)

I lived in Hopatcong, NJ as a kid, and it was my favorite place to live so far for a number of reasons. I thought there were a lot of mean bullies at the schools, but then I moved to rural upstate NY and learned what a mean bully really was. Like comparing a poodle to doberman.

[victorianpunk]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

I lived in Clifton, NJ for over a year in the late 90s, and I didn't experience any of the things you're talking about. I had awesome neighbors, and really enjoyed the time I spent there. I miss it often.

V. =)

Yahh, the yuppie/preppie types can at least be hospitable, if they think you are worthy of breathing their Abrocrombie and Fitch air and, most importantly, AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT DO OR SAY ANYTHING THAT IS UNORTHODOX. I have lived here my whole life, and I have met maybe eight people who would still talk to me after I made the startling admition that I LIKE THE OUTDOORS. You would think that I am a convicted child molestor or something, the way people look at me. Like I said, the minute you say, casually, that you don't like the beach, people do the old JERSEY HALT and you are instantly a leper.

And "Awsome neighbors" is a relative term. I've lived in Jersey my whole life in allot of different places, and I NEVER knew my neighbors...most of whom just argued with their spouses loudly for cooking the pasta wrong or interrupting the Yankees game.

However, if you can conform with the preppie or Guido mold, than Jersey isn't so bad. I here all there people claiming that thanks to the "seattle freeze" they have not met any friends after living their for a year or something. Well, I've lived in Jersey all of my 27 years and guess what? I haven't managed to make any friends here, despite being a pretty outgoing guy...I still think the "Seattle Freeze" has nothing on the "Jersey Halt"

[Katiana]

Yahh, the yuppie/preppie types can at least be hospitable, if they think you are worthy of breathing their Abrocrombie and Fitch air and, most importantly, AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT DO OR SAY ANYTHING THAT IS UNORTHODOX.

I would suggest doing a search on this forum, using terms such as "diversity" and find out what the sense of that is around Seattle. From reading this forum, it seems that it is much the same as what you are describing in Jersey. Note I have lived in neither.

[pwright1]

Why do New Jersey people (my relatives) who have never been out of Bergen or Essex Counties always talk bad about other cities they've never been to? Or 'why on earth do you want to live thea in Seattle?' (in that annoying NJ accent). I was born in NJ and lived in Newark, Englewood, Hackensack, Montclair and Teaneck. It is by far the most racist state I ever lived in. I don't mind visiting every once in a while but vowed never to live there again. I can't believe it still has that rotten egg smell on the NJ Turnpike. Ok I'm done. You can resume your Seattle Freeze discussion.

[Ira500]

Actually, PWright1, rotten eggs smell better than that stench on the turnpike around Linden NJ.