The Seattle Freeze
My transition to Seattle, despite some problems with the person I moved here with, was pretty smooth. I was fresh from Charleston South Carolina and my good ole' southern boy demeanor must have helped me make friends pretty quickly.
It's not so for a lot of people that move to Seattle. Apparently, Seattle is known for being a hard place to make friends. It's called the "Seattle Freeze" and people who move here often feel it.
My friend Brian pointed me to this article called "Our Social Dis-Ease" that takes a funny and interesting look at Seattle and the Seattle Freeze.
Oh man, this article is so right on. My wife and I moved to Seattle 9 years ago and we really struggled with the "seattle freeze", but slowly we have been invited into the homes and to the parties of true seattleites. It takes a long time to crack them but it will happen.
Comment by: Bob September 13, 2005 12:24 PMHi,
I'm a local therapist who happens to be running a class on the Seattle Freeze at Discover U. It's next Tuesday, 10/4. This is the second time I've run the class and the first was great fun. Just wanted to put that out there. Thanks, Peter Hannah, MA
Comment by: Peter Hannah September 28, 2005 02:31 PM