In my opinion....Seattle Freeze is Fake Fake Fake!!! MY CHALLENGE TO YOU! (living, trendy)

[angelenogirl]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

I don't know why the Seattle Freeze is always blamed on the Natives. Majority of the Natives I know are the outgoing, fun types. Seattle is essentially 70% transplant, 30% native; by this line of thinking, the Seattle Freeze culture should be just about negligible.

As friendly as I am, admittedly I do have a b#### resting face, I probably helped the cause. Sorry.

Maybe the transplants are to blame because they move here and are quite literally freezing.

This cold weather is heaven to me, though!

[elkotronics]

Go to the freezer and get your Dad a raspberry freezee!

[treuphax]

Mr. SeattleFun might just be happy because he doesn't have to deal with sorting through the shards of glass that are the single women here in Seattle.... he was smart enough to bring his own husband and family with him...


Shards of glass: pretty, cold, sharp... will cut you.

[NewbiePoster]

Originally Posted by treuphax

Mr. SeattleFun might just be happy because he doesn't have to deal with sorting through the shards of glass that are the single women here in Seattle.... he was smart enough to bring his own husband and family with him...


Shards of glass: pretty, cold, sharp... will cut you.

Just be friendly, man. It's not that hard. Seattle women tend to be grateful for the attention. It's a tough dating market for them, too. Chat them up wherever you see 'em--at the store, concert, at the bus stop, wherever, and you can win.

[WAIDOR]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

Well, isn't this such a faaabulous post...

Great for you. I'm glad you've found Seattle to be such an accommodating home.

I'm appreciative of the Freeze. I don't like superficial chit-chat so please don't try talking to me while I'm buying groceries or coffee. Serve me my short drip, no room and move on to the next-in-line.

My experiences since moving to the Seattle area have been similar to the OP's and my wife has made comments similar to Flyingsaucermom's post. I have found people over here to be very active. Last summer we visited Woodland Park one evening and saw tons of people playing horseshoes with loud music blasting. It looked like a fun and out going social scene and the opposite of the Seattle Freeze.

[seattlelatte]

Sacite, your comments are right on point, I couldn't have summarized this better. Thank You

"Some were polite but not necessarily engaging....... Others did not want to engage at all"

Originally Posted by sacite

I just got back from Seattle. And let me preface this by saying I LOVE Seattle. The weather, views, layout, etc. Awesome. And after stating I am about to state, I'd still move there if possible.

I am very outgoing and I tried to talk to a lot of people. Some were polite but not necessarily engaging in the manner I am use to. Others did not want to engage at all (this is to be expected anywhere). But most noteably, what struck me most was the ultra drummed down look and energy everywhere we went. The coffee shop we went to was packed but dead silent. My GF and I even laughed when a patron tried to make small talk with the Barista and received literally no response. Felt like a sterile library, and this was on Capitol Hill, the "alternative/young" area. In other places people didn't look - what's the word - "vibrant" or happy. Most people looked away when I made eye contact. To me it feels like an EXTREMELY hard place to meet people. The whole social vibe in Seattle seems forced and awkward. You can talk about dumb surface level stuff in a very generic manner, but even then you get shut down if it exceeds what seems like a predetermined limit of "friendliness". By the end of my trip I honestly began to question whether I was acting strange, if it was me.

I think the Freeze is real. But it could probably be overcome by befriending other transplants I imagine. Glad to be back in Sac fot the time being though where I cannot get people to stop talking to me everywhere I go. I like that extreme better.

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by Professor46

I think it's different for everyone -- but for me it was a DEFINITE reality.

I moved to Seattle in 1995 from the East Coast and lived there for 13 years. I lived in all different parts of the city (downtown, Queen Anne, Capital Hill, and Ballard) and found that people, in general, were VERY difficult to get to know, and NOT for a lack of trying; I initiated conversations, invited people to events, made small talk, pointed out commonalities, joined groups, all to little avail.

I can also list dozens of different people who I had to my home, cooked for, invited out, etc. and who either never reciprocated or half the time would come up with an excuse at the very last minute not to come/join in. This happened over and over and over again for years until I just accepted it as reality -- which does not mean that I liked it.

It even happened after I fell in love and met my partner, who had lived there for 20 years at that point, and we experienced the same thing as a couple.

Now that I moved back to the Northeast, I see just how unfriendly people in the Northwest are; and, truly, it's not so much "unfriendly" as it is reserved and an inability to be vulnerable and open.

Now, I DID make a few good friends, who are friends of mine to this day, but people in Seattle are so "to themselves" that it often borders on rude in my opinion.

Two things I don't miss -- the endless gray/drizzle and the Seattle Freeze.

I'm glad your experience has been positive, but I think you are in the minority.

As a native to the Northwest and especially from being in Seattle for 3 years, I think this post is dead on!


Seattle people are not necessarily mean, but they are very shy and reserved and you have to make all the motions and take the effort to be hospitable and sociable. I think the people in the city suffer from a severe case of self-doubt and are a bit socially inept. It's not like they all want to be mean, it's just that some don't know how to be very friendly. Many take friendly advances with suspicion as if the person may have ulterior motives. I go out of my way to not be too friendly, but too be as sociable as I can. It's hard to be that outgoing, friendly guy in a place where everyone likes to huddle into their little bubble and hide behind their electronic gadgets.

[kyled]

Just judging this as an outsider, not having lived in Seattle, from what I've heard about the seattle freeze it seems like the classic reaction of extroverts to introverts. The US has long been dominated by extroverts and as such the introverted lifestyle tends to be frowned upon. Seattle has an abundance of introverts so its people are perceived as being cold and distant...which isn't the case...introverts are just more selective with whom to be friendly and certainly a stranger on the street or on the bus doesn't typically qualify.

I think those who succeed socially in seattle might be more allowing of introverts, giving them their space (which introverts love) and not as quick to judge them...letting relationships form naturally instead of trying to force them (which introverts hate). Either that or they just ignore introverts and focus on the extroverts they meet. Of course this is all simply the conclusion I've come to after reading the myriad of people here discussing the subject, so take it with a grain of salt.

[elkotronics]

kyled, your input is very intriguing. Is this Dr.Drew type stuff? If you guys want freezee , visit Chicago.There they don't look at you in the eyes.

After all, that would be a challenge. Right?

[BluntBoo]

You can tell when the S.A.D. settles in as threads/posts like this about socializing in Seattle start popping up...

It must be unendurable at times to always see all that grey, all that misty wetness one has to go several thousands of miles away to escape it. I know, I used to live there.

Though not as cold or as isolated as Alaska, there they too must endure drabness and fellow loners too 'chill' to conduct a conversation. Congratulations on doing your best to escape such creeping dread by blowing sunshine up our collective _______s!