seattle: The Seattle Freeze

Tiffany (

tiff_seattle) wrote in

seattle,
@ 2007-07-02 14:31:00

The Seattle Freeze
The "Seattle Freeze" has now been made the subject of a short documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roC_nsdyi1I

What do you think, dear

seattle? Does this strike you as being accurate?

(Post a new comment)

	zorty 2007-07-02 09:34 pm UTC (link)
	I feel it... burrr it's cold in here. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	kraex 2007-07-03 12:47 am UTC (link)
	There must be some Torros in the atmosphere. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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perhapsmaybe, 2007-07-03 02:13 am UTC

	speedofthought 2007-07-02 09:48 pm UTC (link)
	"It's really hard to make friends here" is a self-fulfilling prophecy if I've ever seen one. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	cupkate 2007-07-02 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	Seriously. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	memeslut 2007-07-02 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	it was alright, I agree with the comparisons to Scandinavian cultures. (Reply to this)

	mpurple 2007-07-02 10:27 pm UTC (link)
	i don't know, but i noticed (and this is a highly scientific experiment, of course;) that, when i am in new york, when i notice a girl look at me, and i look back, she smiles. here, if i notice a girl look at me, and i look back, she'll look away. any scientific theories around that? ;) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	iheartiheart 2007-07-02 10:39 pm UTC (link)
	They both obviously want to make sweet sweet love to you. These random statements are for science, SCIENCE! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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mpurple, 2007-07-02 11:01 pm UTC

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gomezticator, 2007-07-02 11:20 pm UTC

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jitterbean, 2007-07-03 02:16 am UTC

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nicolemarieh, 2007-07-03 03:04 am UTC

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mpurple, 2007-07-03 04:13 pm UTC

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bluesgal, 2007-07-03 12:04 am UTC

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nder, 2007-07-03 06:19 am UTC

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mpurple, 2007-07-05 05:42 pm UTC

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flybaristawoman, 2007-07-05 03:40 am UTC

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mpurple, 2007-07-05 06:01 pm UTC

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flybaristawoman, 2007-07-06 05:31 am UTC

	blackshini 2007-07-02 11:09 pm UTC (link)
	I think the weather bit is bull. Im from Portland and its much friendlier there, and the weather is essentially the same. I know its a bad comparison, because Portland is ridiculously friendly, and that may be why the difference is so noticeable to me. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	memeslut 2007-07-03 03:38 am UTC (link)
	100% agree (Reply to this) (Parent)

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aquariah, 2007-07-03 06:13 am UTC

	nebula31 2007-07-02 11:12 pm UTC (link)
	I think it's ridiculous and stupid. It's the kind of gossip people hear passed among their peer group and repeat as fact. Their friends/coworkers said it, so it must be true! It's kind of like saying "everyone in Seattle kayaks" or "real Seattle residents don't use umbrellas". Pure garbage. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	iheartiheart 2007-07-03 12:08 am UTC (link)
	I don't kayak. I'm too fat. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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nebula31, 2007-07-03 12:52 am UTC

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memeslut, 2007-07-03 03:33 am UTC

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nebula31, 2007-07-03 03:53 am UTC

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mr_quackenbush, 2007-07-03 02:01 am UTC

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tiff_seattle, 2007-07-03 03:10 am UTC

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nebula31, 2007-07-03 03:20 am UTC

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nebula31, 2007-07-03 03:12 am UTC

	supercrush 2007-07-02 11:27 pm UTC (link)
	I have lived in the PNW all my life and I think there is definitely some truth to the video... if not entirely true. We are icey isolatative folks for sure. I am rather sick of it honestly and am moving back east in a few short weeks. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	this_nic 2007-07-03 06:20 pm UTC (link)
	"I have lived in the PNW all my life" "(I) am moving back east" WTF?!? How does one live here all their life then move back east? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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supercrush, 2007-07-03 06:41 pm UTC

No, we're not unfriendly. We just don't like YOU!

mistressmatisse
2007-07-02 11:39 pm UTC (link)

Oh, that is such bullshit, I'm so tired of hearing that about Seattle. I moved here from another state in my twenties and I never had a bit of trouble making friends. Of course, that might be because I'm a reasonable person who understands that it takes time, not some clingy leg-humper who comes off all desperate and pathetic.

I don't think we're more isolated. But some people just want to download instant friendships like they were something on iTunes, and when they can't they get all pouty and talk about how mean other people are. You know, if the same thing keeps happening over and over and the only common element is you - well then, maybe it's YOU. Instead of, you know - everyone else in the city!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: No, we're not unfriendly. We just don't like YOU! mpurple 2007-07-03 12:07 am UTC (link)
	i think that's true, too. we don't really cut people much slack here, everything has to be "just so," or... we just politely refuse to engage. and by "we" i mostly mean "i." which makes me sad. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: No, we're not unfriendly. We just don't like YOU! -

craftyasparagus, 2007-07-03 12:29 am UTC

Re: No, we're not unfriendly. We just don't like YOU! -

mr_quackenbush, 2007-07-03 02:05 am UTC

Re: No, we're not unfriendly. We just don't like YOU! -

lady3jane, 2007-07-03 05:11 pm UTC

	motherpuckett 2007-07-02 11:44 pm UTC (link)
	I found it much harder to make friends in Los Angeles than I ever did in Seattle. (Reply to this)

	mcfnord 2007-07-03 12:13 am UTC (link)
	i recognize that sexy voice. (Reply to this)

glueslabs
2007-07-03 12:46 am UTC (link)

man, native Seattleites get real defensive when you call them out on their weird social tendencies.

i don't know how well this theory applies across the board, but it pretty much fits my experience. i can tell you that in the two years i've lived here, all but two of the friends i've made are fellow transplants.

and NYC is a much friendlier city in general. strangers are more approachable and it's got much more of "we're all in this together" feel to it.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	mcfnord 2007-07-03 12:54 am UTC (link)
	as unsubstantiated local patterns go, i much prefer the Windshield Ding Panic of 1954. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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scearley, 2007-07-03 03:57 am UTC

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qandnotjen, 2007-07-03 12:57 am UTC

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gomezticator, 2007-07-03 07:17 pm UTC

kraex
2007-07-03 12:57 am UTC (link)

I grew up in the northwest, went to college at the UW, moved to texas for five years, moved back to the northwest for 7 years, had some native southern friends move to seattle, watched them move back, then I moved to the bay area.

Honestly, Seattle is a tough town to make friends in. I did activities, I volunteered, I played soccer, I went to see local bands. I made very few friends through these activities. Sure, we got on just dandy while we were doing whatever it was we did together. But afterward, that was it.

Then there's meeting people through other friends. Generally confined to whatever party, etc. you meet them at. Afterward you're "so and so's friend" and nice to talk to. Other places in the country, if you meet someone out and you have a nice chat, they're likely to invite you to something else, whether your friend is going or not. Not so much in Seattle.

My friends from down south found it incredibly frustrating. We had parties frequently at our place to get people together, and people came and had a great time. But if they were included in the activities of others, it was mostly with me (a native!) as a liaison. They didn't move back because of it exactly, but it certainly made it tough to be happy here.

Since moving to California, the main thing I've noticed, people smile and acknowledge your existence. I don't mean friends or coworkers, I mean random people. They might go so far as to say "Hello" without even knowing who you are. Now I'm not saying that never happens in Seattle, but it's not altogether common.

Goodbye cloudy skies, hello sunshine. Maybe it's just my cheerier disposition when the sun is out every day that makes me more approachable, and it has nothing to do with everyone else.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

gomezticator
2007-07-03 07:21 pm UTC (link)

This aspect is true. There aren't a lot of forks in the social road, so to speak... more like dead ends. You meet people at a party or get together and get to know them, but trying to meet up with said new people to hang out is impossible. It's like these social gatherings are giant social one-offs rather than places to make friends. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but the process of making friends, as we know it down south, is a very foreign and intrusive thing to people here.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

nebula31
2007-07-03 01:12 am UTC (link)

A few more thoughts - this whole philosophy doesn't make sense, if only for the fact that so many people come here from other states (or countries) to work at companies like Microsoft, Amazon, etc. The people who live here aren't even from here! How does that translate into a "freeze"? Wouldn't they simply act like people from the cities that they originally came from?

I think most of the people who are pushing this "freeze" idea are just a certain personality type who don't socialize well. (I'm not really judging here - I don't always socialize well myself!)

No matter where you live, there are always people (I'll bet you can think of one) who say "this place sucks, you should leave". The reality of it is that it's not the place - it's them. They're still going to be the same whiny negative person in Phoenix that they are here in Seattle. (Or insert name of city.)

Case in point - my friend who is supposedly moving to L.A. because he can't stand the Seattle weather. "I don't get enough light." This despite the fact that it's been warming here every year, and that it rains here far less than commonly repeated. (May also have something to do with him draping heavy curtains over all of his windows, staying inside on every sunny day - sitting on the couch drinking soda and watching movies.)

Sure, Seattle doesn't have the south's Nascar-crowd party hospitality ("Howdy friend! Come on over and have some ribs and a Pabst!"), but people are friendly here. To me it's more of a matter of reaching out and getting involved.

(Reply to this)

	tanukisuit 2007-07-03 01:17 am UTC (link)
	I'm a nice person- how come none of these people who are frozen out are trying to be my friend? Probably because I don't wear a white belt or something. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	mr_quackenbush 2007-07-03 02:07 am UTC (link)
	or a meshback trucker hat. maybe it's all the cha cha's fault? (Reply to this) (Parent)

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nicolemarieh, 2007-07-03 03:09 am UTC

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tanukisuit, 2007-07-03 05:13 am UTC

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nicolemarieh, 2007-07-10 11:57 pm UTC

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tanukisuit, 2007-07-11 12:13 am UTC

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nicolemarieh, 2007-07-11 12:22 am UTC

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tanukisuit, 2007-07-11 12:29 am UTC

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nicolemarieh, 2007-07-11 12:33 am UTC

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mpurple, 2007-07-03 04:35 am UTC

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tanukisuit, 2007-07-03 05:16 am UTC

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nder, 2007-07-03 06:23 am UTC

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tanukisuit, 2007-07-03 06:29 am UTC

}coughimactuallyjustlamecough{ -

nder, 2007-07-03 07:17 am UTC

Re: }coughimactuallyjustlamecough{ -

tanukisuit, 2007-07-03 07:27 am UTC

mr_quackenbush
2007-07-03 02:11 am UTC (link)

the seattle freeze is bullshit. the people who complain about it just aren't good at making friends, and because it's folk wisdom they blame it on that so they don't have to fix themselves.

Every time I meet somebody who claims that they have been a victim of the seattle freeze, I make it a point to say that I'd be interested in becoming friends with them, after all, you can never have enough friends. I give them an email address or a cell phone number. Sometimes I hear from them, sometimes I don't. Some of them have become friends, some haven't. The one who did become a friend that I can think of still complains about the seattle freeze, never mind the fact that they now have a wide circle of friends they met through me all of whom are natives.

(Reply to this)

	jitterbean 2007-07-03 02:20 am UTC (link)
	That's it! Everyone who wants to make friends needs to have some sort of signal! Like a big red dot on the back of your left hand or something. It wouldn't be that hard. (Reply to this)

wufeidragon
2007-07-03 02:43 am UTC (link)

What the hell? I have SO MANY FRIENDS FROM SEATTLE. I had a harder time making friends in Boston where I go to school. My friend had a really hard time making friends in New York. I mean, I made three actual friends in the last two weeks. THREE. Just randomly. If you want to be friends with someone ask for their number or give them yours, don't depend on them to initiate it. Christ. Be proactive!

And if you're going to talk about weather... In Boston it is not only cloudy and rainy and freezing cold all fucking fall winter and spring, but all the trees are completely bare so everything looks dead. Seattle's depressing? Yeah... I don't think so.

I'm sorry, all of this seems like total and complete bullshit to me. It's just people adjusting poorly to a different culture.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

adespota
2007-07-08 05:03 am UTC (link)

Your comment is right on, in my opinion (particularly the bit about the weather!). Almost all of my friends from Seattle who went back east for school have found it to be a colder social atmosphere than out here. Part of it is just having to make friends in a new place, though. Since Seattle has such a high number of transplants, that means there's just more people without the social networks they grew up in to complain.

As a side note, we go to the same school. It is weird that I do not know you since there are so few Washingtonians at Brandeis.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

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wufeidragon, 2007-07-08 08:09 am UTC

	nicolemarieh 2007-07-03 03:11 am UTC (link)
	i have lived in the NW most of my life but never had much trouble making friends. and im more the quiet, reserved type in person, but i think its that i dont hesitate to invite people to things when i can and try to get to know them better. most of my friends i met on lj, then threw a party and invited them all :D the trick: THROW A DAMN GOOD PARTY~! (Reply to this)

joanne511
2007-07-03 03:17 am UTC (link)

I've found that it can be harder to make friends as you get older too. Less activities that force you to be around the same people often enough to forge friendships, like you do at school or other similar settings. That said, I had more trouble making friends in Phoenix than I did in any other city I've lived in and I was in my early 20s at the time! I just don't see the "freeze" as a totally Seattle phenomenon.

(Reply to this)

gomezticator
2007-07-03 03:55 am UTC (link)

I've obviously thought of this before, and something occurred to me that it turns out manifested itself in this video.

The sociologist who said that Seattle was past of a larger national trend had it dead on. People in general around the country are more socially withdrawn than generations past, and I believe it's because of the internet culture.

We interact with one another in isolation: we leave each other comments on LJ and other places, messages. Even IM technology is centered around one on one conversation, something mostly done by friends who already know each other. This phenomenon makes it harder to meet people, as people at large are more socially withdrawn, as that's the lifestyle of people these days. We can go on the internet and find people like us. We aren't tied to the world around us. Therefore, unlike past generations, we aren't compelled to interact with the world around us, because unlike in the past, we aren't forced to go out and meet people in person if we want to meet new people.

Since no one NEEDS to meet people in public, no one really seeks out social relationships cold turkey in public. Sure, we meet new people through friends and family, or we meet up with classmates and coworkers, and maybe meet new friends that way, conventional means. But outside of that, aside from being polite, we cut people off emotionally, in order to maintain what's become a stricter comfort zone that past generations had. Nowadays, interacting with strangers is a comfort zone violation. We interact as much as is necessary, but we keep the walls up. That's where we're seeing the Seattle Freeze... except it's also the New York Freeze, and the San Francisco Freeze and the Chicago Freeze and so on.

And lastly, I don't think the weather really has anything to do with it. I actually find people are MORE sociable when it's raining, but that's just me.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	flybaristawoman 2007-07-05 03:52 am UTC (link)
	agreed with your post 100% especially people being more sociable when it rains! Katiya (Reply to this) (Parent)

	madamecacoon 2007-07-03 07:08 am UTC (link)
	I've always attributed my inability to make friends to my stupid brain rather than the city I live in. I've spent my life surrounded by people with friends. Eh. (Reply to this)

	yummykit 2007-07-03 08:05 am UTC (link)
	wow. someone in that video has my last name. and it is NOT a common one. i should call her up to be friends. or just follow the trend and be friends with dear tanukisuit. maybe. (Reply to this)

	rhetorical adespota 2007-07-08 04:51 am UTC (link)
	If Seattle's Scandinavian roots are responsible for the freeze, then why doesn't Minnesota suffer from the same thing? (Reply to this)

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