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We moved here about two months ago and have found people to be the most friendly of any place we have ever lived or visited. Its possible you are trying too hard and because of that sending off a weird vibe. Just relax and go with the flow. It will get better.
Lol being friendly is now redefined as trying to hard this is what I'm talking about
This is in reply to the girl who made another thread not knowing this one existed. She said she's about to move from Chicago to Seattle in September and was concerned about the Seattle freeze. I think I may be of some help considering I just moved from Seattle to Chicago five months ago after 14 years, including my high school and college years, in the Seattle area.
No, strangers will not be nearly as friendly or talk to you nearly as much in Seattle as they do in Chicago. They will however be more polite and much less aggressive. People in Chicago are much more likely to say what's on their mind and tell it like it is. People in Seattle tend to be more passive aggressive and avoid conflict while being annoyed by you internally rather than saying they are.
Also, Seattleites almost NEVER make eye contact with you. It's the strangest thing to me now that I've lived in Chicago. Here in Chicago, every freaking girl I pass pretty much looks me right in the eyes and me back at them. It's like we're scoping each other out. My girlfriend, born and raised in the Seattle area, noticed this immediately when she came to visit me in Chicago. She claimed how every guy seemed to make eye contact with her. In Seattle, this never happens. It's like people are afraid of strangers, OR have absolutely zero interest in any of the people around them. I think this is largely due to the lack of public transportation and the west coast being a major driving region which limits human contact and interaction:
Seattle, like all of the west coast, has a much bigger car culture than Chicago. Of course plenty of people drive cars in Chicago. The traffic in Chicago is waaaaay worse than Seattle (and don't let any Seattleite tell you the traffic is bad in Seattle. It's not. They obviously haven't been anywhere where traffic truly is bad.) But the terrible public transportation in Seattle makes everyday encounters on foot with both strangers and acquaintances much less common. This is how it is on most of the west coast though. I was born and raised in Southern California. You can't get by in Seattle without a car. I'm sure some people do, but it's not easy. In Chicago, I easily get by without a car. I use the bus, the L and my bicycle. Not only that, but I get everywhere just as fast, if not faster than a car in the city. Seattle ain't like that at all.
I can't tell you how many single serving friends I've made in Chicago on the L, on buses or just walking down the street or browsing shops. That NEVER happened in Seattle. I think when a city has bad public transportation, people want to just get to and from where they're going in their car without any interruptions and any small talk on the way. Cars/driving is just much less personal. I believe this is a big factor of the "Seattle freeze" but I don't think it applies just to Seattle. West coasters just simply aren't as accustomed to engaging strangers in public besides in restaurants and shops.
Seattleites typically drive really slowly. They drive the speed limit or 5 over the speed limit max. They are overly polite while driving to the point of annoyance. 4 way stops in Seattle/the suburbs are infuriating. They will refuse to use merging lanes and instead line up behind one another so as not to be rude and cut in front of everyone using the merging lane FOR ITS PURPOSE. It's so stupid. They rarely, rarely honk (which might surprise you coming from Chicago where honking is a must have skill). And will commonly let you into their lane if you're changing lanes rather than cut you off like typical rude Chicago drivers on the tollways. So that aspect is quite nice.
Also, a huge difference between Seattle and Chicago is the bar scene/nightlife. When I go to a bar in Chicago, I meet tons of new people every night I go out, have a drink with them, talk, and become friends. In Seattle, this is not the case. When you go to a bar with your friends, you drink with your friends, sit with your friends and don't branch out from your friends. Of course there are times when you'll meet new people or drunk friends but it's just not as common or likely. My buddies have all had this problem too: bars are traditionally a place where it's acceptable for a guy to hit on a girl. In Seattle, when my buddies hit on a girl, or even simply try to engage in a conversation, they get all their girlfriends to **** block him, or they look at him like he's crazy for even talking to them, and make him feel stupid. I've seen it happen countless times to my friends who are all attractive guys. One of those same friends came to Chicago and hooked up with a girl on the first night. Because, you know, people in Chicago aren't afraid to meet NEW people on their nights out. In fact, they seem to yearn for it. Seattle girls are... i don't know. More wary of men they don't know? I don't know how to describe it. Every single night I've gone out in Chicago I've met a girl who has shown interest in hanging out with me again or doing something. Unfortunately I already have a girlfriend and don't hang out with girls alone out of respect for my relationship, but if I wanted to I could have gone on dates with at least 6 girls in my 5 months I've been here and I didn't put any effort whatsoever into it. The dating scene in Seattle was NOT like that... In fact every single girl I've ever dated or had chemistry with was not from Seattle except my girlfriend and I met her in middle school... so I already had history with her.
It's not that Seattleites don't make good friends. They do. All my best friends are born and raised in the Seattle area and they are the best, most loyal friends I could ask for. But they're also exclusive (ESPECIALLY my girlfriends from Seattle. Jesus Christ. My guy friends aren't really like that) and they're not as accepting or patient with outsiders. It's not that Seattleites aren't friendly. It's that it can be very difficult to get in with them and form a meaningful friendships. That's what the "freeze" is. It's not that Seattleites don't have friends or are hermits or anything, it's that they're known for not letting others be a part of their group.
It's funny because the above things I'm talking about are demonstrated by all my friends who are native western Washingtonians. The ones that aren't, including myself, don't demonstrate these traits at all.
Despite Seattle being known for its liberal qualities, to me there are definite social reservations in Seattle common display by native western washingtonians.
If you're like a lot of Chicagoans and you're a fun loving midwestern girl who isn't afraid to chat up the boys, the guys may be taken aback at first, but the Seattle guys would love you. And a lot of the Seattle girls would probably feel threatened by you because they lack that same openness. Until you show them how much fun it is to have a little Chicagoan in their life.
Lastly, there are never any absolutes and what I'm saying above doesn't apply to everyone from the Seattle area. But the stereotype exists for a reason. It wasn't just made up diabolically by an anti-Seattle writer.
I'll end by saying that I love Seattle and I love all my friends there. They're all really good people. Once you make some friends and get in with a group, they'll be yours for good. You won't find the superficial BS that exists in places like LA. And once you find your group, you'll be perfectly happy. Hope this was somewhat useful.
Also, Seattleites almost NEVER make eye contact with you. It's the strangest thing to me now that I've lived in Chicago. Here in Chicago, every freaking girl I pass pretty much looks me right in the eyes and me back at them. It's like we're scoping each other out. My girlfriend, born and raised in the Seattle area, noticed this immediately when she came to visit me in Chicago. She claimed how every guy seemed to make eye contact with her. In Seattle, this never happens. It's like people are afraid of strangers, OR have absolutely zero interest in any of the people around them. I think this is largely due to the lack of public transportation and the west coast being a major driving region which limits human contact and interaction:
Seattle, like all of the west coast, has a much bigger car culture than Chicago. Of course plenty of people drive cars in Chicago. The traffic in Chicago is waaaaay worse than Seattle (and don't let any Seattleite tell you the traffic is bad in Seattle. It's not. They obviously haven't been anywhere where traffic truly is bad.) But the terrible public transportation in Seattle makes everyday encounters on foot with both strangers and acquaintances much less common. This is how it is on most of the west coast though. I was born and raised in Southern California. You can't get by in Seattle without a car. I'm sure some people do, but it's not easy. In Chicago, I easily get by without a car. I use the bus, the L and my bicycle. Not only that, but I get everywhere just as fast, if not faster than a car in the city. Seattle ain't like that at all.
Wow. I know Chicago is generally considered one of the leaders in the U.S. in public transportation, but you should visit Middle Tennessee if you really want to see what a lack of public transit is like. When I visited Seattle I had no trouble getting around without a car. I went from Seattle to Bellingham without a car, and went all over Bellingham without a car. The whole time I was there all I could think of was how much easier it would be to be car free there as opposed to hear. And I've done it here! After being car free here for about three years, the Seattle area seemed like it would be a breeze.
I'm sure middle Tennessee has little or no public transportation, but Seattle is one of the major cities of the country full of countless major corporations and as a major city, in relation to other cities of similar size such as San Francisco, the public transportation is truly lacking. It's funny, considering how environmentally friendly Seattle and Seattleites pretend to be, yet nobody uses public transportation and everybody drives an unnecessarily large gas guzzling SUV for no reason. They usually claim it's for the snow. Yeah, they buy a car for the two days per year it snows.
I'm sure middle Tennessee has little or no public transportation, but Seattle is one of the major cities of the country full of countless major corporations and as a major city, in relation to other cities of similar size such as San Francisco, the public transportation is truly lacking. It's funny, considering how environmentally friendly Seattle and Seattleites pretend to be, yet nobody uses public transportation and everybody drives an unnecessarily large gas guzzling SUV for no reason. They usually claim it's for the snow. Yeah, they buy a car for the two days per year it snows.
Not suggesting that Seattle wouldn't benefit from better public transit, but to suggest that " nobody uses public transportation" is really, really wrong. You ever been on a #3, #4, #7, #10 bus? Ever been on the 101 bus to Renton at afternoon rush hour? Who are those people packed in like sardines? Nobody?
Metro alone does over a hundred million passenger boardings per year. The light rail is carrying about 25,000 people per day. Local News | Ridership climbs on Metro buses | Seattle Times Newspaper
Not suggesting that Seattle wouldn't benefit from better public transit, but to suggest that " nobody uses public transportation" is really, really wrong. You ever been on a #3, #4, #7, #10 bus? Ever been on the 101 bus to Renton at afternoon rush hour? Who are those people packed in like sardines? Nobody?
Metro alone does over a hundred million passenger boardings per year. The light rail is carrying about 25,000 people per day. Local News | Ridership climbs on Metro buses | Seattle Times Newspaper
I'm not saying nobody uses it, I'm just saying it's lacking. I'm glad to hear it sounds like it's slowly improving though.
Public transportation in Seattle definitely much superior in comparison to Cleveland, my old residence. Chicago traffic is so horrible that I think I would just get rid of my car if I lived there.
I'm not saying nobody uses it, I'm just saying it's lacking. I'm glad to hear it sounds like it's slowly improving though.
You're not saying nobody uses it? Didn't you say:
"It's funny, considering how environmentally friendly Seattle and Seattleites pretend to be, yet nobody uses public transportation..."
Yes, it's lacking, especially compared to places like SF, Boston, NYC, Chicago.
But you could also compare it to places like Phoenix and Las Vegas, and then it looks stellar.
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