Official "Seattle Freeze" Discussion Thread (Lakeview: home, living)

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Sure you're going to meet "Friendly" people. It's trying to make meaningful connections that will have you stumped after you move out here. YOU will be the one initiating get togethers all the time. YOU will be the one reaching out. It won't work the other way. A one-sided relationship gets really old really quick. Sure you met nice people and neighbors. Most people do when they "visit." Living the in and out of the day every day is a different animal altogether. Good luck

Can you expand on this? Why is this?

[wisconsinfan]

Originally Posted by hunter_mom

I'm moving out to Seattle from New York in one week (wow!) and I've got to say that while I've been preparing for this move the last few months, every single person I've met or spoken to has been nothing but friendly and helpful. The one time I was out to visit, I found got the same reaction from people. While I was really hesistant about agreeing to the move (hubby got a new job in Bellevue), I'm actually looking forward to it now. We're moving into a new development and all of the neighbors we've met (my husbands been out there for 2 months already) have been extremely friendly. Maybe it's because there are so many transplants? I don't know. I'm just hoping to find that the "Seattle Freeze" doesn't really exist for us.

I agree with you, hunter_mom, I hope it doesn't exist either! But with so many comments about it I am concerned. My husband just got offered a job in Bothell and we are deciding whether to move or not from WI. We have to make our decision fairly quickly and I haven't even been to Seattle yet. Now on top of the extremely high cost of living in Seattle I now have to factor in "the freeze factor". I am really hestitant about the move now. This is a major move. Should we do it? I not sure...The last thing I want to get is the "freeze" when we moved our family so far away from what we are happy with right now. Does this "Seattle freeze" extend into the suburbs too??? I am so conflicted about this...

[mayfair]

Don't take the Seattle freeze too seriously, Wisconsinfan. The Seattle area is diverse and doesn't fit into any sterotype. There is a culture here- it's different from the midwest and takes some adjusting to. Especially if you are coming from a town/small city into the Seattle metroplex. Don't be discouraged about the freeze (but the high cost of living is real).

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

I'm very fond of NYC (Manhattan) and unless your with friends that is one of the coldest places on earth EVEN in the summer! Seattle is a major city for crying out loud of course it's cold!

Go 45 minutes to an hour outside of Seattle and tell me if the freeze is still present!

But isn't the topic "Seattle Freeze"? Seems it would be pertinent to keep the discussion to Seattle.

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

But isn't the topic "Seattle Freeze"? Seems it would be pertinent to keep the discussion to Seattle.

Yup! I only had one sentence about NY as a comparison, the rest was Seattle.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

Yup! I only had one sentence about NY as a comparison, the rest was Seattle.

Actually, I was referring to the part about 45 min to an hour out of Seattle, not the reference to NYC. Sorry for the confusion.

[hunter_mom]

Right now I'm living about an hour north of Manhattan, but before that I was living in the city for about 13 years and I'm originally from Long Island - so I've always known the NY Metropolitan area.

I dont know. I think people are people wherever you go. You have friendly outgoing people and people who would rather keep to themselves and aren't interested in making new friends. You just have to keep trying until you find the right ones.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the fact that we're moving into a brand new development that's filled with a lot of transplants is going to make a difference. Everyone will kind of be in the same boat - moving to a new city with little or no personal connections. I'm hoping that our neighbors will become a makeshift family for us since we don't have any family or friends in the area.

[Katiana]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the fact that we're moving into a brand new development that's filled with a lot of transplants is going to make a difference. Everyone will kind of be in the same boat - moving to a new city with little or no personal connections. I'm hoping that our neighbors will become a makeshift family for us since we don't have any family or friends in the area.

That will probably happen to a certain extent. Some of the folks in the development may just be moving from one part of Seattle to another, though. We have been discussing this whole neighborhliness issue on the Denver forum. Go over there and take a look, "Is your neighborhood friendly" or something like that.

[jwb123]

Also, native to the area or not, sometimes the freeze just gets you - and you become "like them!!!" I say this lightly, but it is true for many people that I have spoken with, and read on this forum.

My husband and I are not native to the WA area, though my family is, and we both had lived there a significant amount of time. We can absolutely confirm that in our case, it got us, even though we didn't want to, and we noticed it in others.... I still email with an old neighbor (also not native, but looong time resident) and she comments all the time about the people in the neighborhood who STILL aren't talking to each other, and that she bet's it's different for us now. I can confirm, it is. I don't think it's the PEOPLE there, as take those people, many of them anyway, out of the area - and they may be animated, warm and different. I think it's the AREA, and yes, it especially extends to the suburbs.

[cobolt]

41Willys,

I don't know why it's like that. I can tell you from my own experience and that of other relocatees, that they have reached out to their neighbors, coworkers etc, without much luck. They throw parties, bbqs, etc but the neighbors don't reciprocate. And it isn't even about "I throw a shindig so now it's your turn." It's more about you having to initiate just about all the contact and get togethers. Neighbors wave to you when they see you, but that's it. Heck, one of my co-workers, a WA native, said he's lived next to his neighbor for 15 years and has only recently met him. People are just too caught up in their own thing, their own families and established circle of friends. It seems hard to break into that. One of my best friends is a WA native and I have to initiate get togethers with him ALWAYS. I'm not saying everyone is like that and this isn't restricted to natives, but I have not experienced this before moving to WA and I have lived in ALOT of different states. There may be differences througout the state--the east side seems a bit more friendly and less standoffish to me. I don't think it's concentrated in the Seattle area because I used to live and work outside of Seattle, in the South Sound. I've pretty much seen it in W WA. I think if someone is independent or already has a network of family here, it's easy. I think if you're the type of person who is insular and just wants to be left alone--you're okay with the casual discussion at the grocery store then it's okay. I've seen it in the chuch community as well. People socialize within the establishment, but outside of that, they don't. Well then, if you only deal with people in the environments in which you met them, how do you cultivate meaningful friendships? It isn't easy. That's why I moved. WA is beautiful, but it isn't for everyone.