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The term '''Seattle Freeze''' refers to a widely held belief that it is especially difficult to make new friends in the U.S. city of [[Seattle, Washington]], particularly for transplants from other cities. A 2005 ''[[The Seattle Times|Seattle Times]]'' article appears to be the first known use of the term,<ref>{{cite news|publisher=[[KUOW-FM|KUOW]]|title=Is The Seattle Freeze A Real Thing?|author=Jim Gates|date=March 17, 2014|url=http://kuow.org/post/seattle-freeze-real-thing}}</ref><ref name="Sommerfeld2014">{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/our-social-dis-ease-beyond-the-smiles-the-seattle-freeze-is-on/ |title=Our Social Dis-ease: Beyond the smiles, the Seattle Freeze is on |date=February 13, 2005 |last=Sommerfeld|first=Julia |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |department=Pacific NW Magazine |access-date=February 6, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105082656/http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/our-social-dis-ease-beyond-the-smiles-the-seattle-freeze-is-on/}}</ref> though the ''Seattle Daily Times'' described the phenomenon as early as the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/image/page/v2:127D718D1E33F961@EANX-12A7B9F3A7E28956@2431853-12A7B36A03C830FD@5?p=AMNEWS |url-access=registration |title=Such Discussion Can Help Build A Better City|date= February 1, 1946 |work=[[The Seattle Daily Times]]|page=6|access-date= May 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Berger">{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Knute |title=Transplants vs. locals is the cultural permafrost always under Seattle's feet. |url=https://crosscut.com/2020/04/one-woman-war-against-seattles-icy-pricey-reputation?fbclid=IwAR0QPJBL91FQ8CtVBpOMskhGSIJ3d2qxwVV0ol41l759BhSO4DhDIPIC8vY |access-date=May 1, 2020 |publisher=Crosscut |date=April 30, 2020}}</ref>
The term '''Seattle Freeze''' refers to a widely held belief that it is especially difficult to make new friends in the U.S. city of [[Seattle, Washington]], particularly for transplants from other cities. A 2005 ''[[The Seattle Times|Seattle Times]]'' article appears to be the first known use of the term,<ref>{{cite news|publisher=[[KUOW-FM|KUOW]]|title=Is The Seattle Freeze A Real Thing?|author=Jim Gates|date=March 17, 2014|url=http://kuow.org/post/seattle-freeze-real-thing}}</ref><ref name="Sommerfeld2014">{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/our-social-dis-ease-beyond-the-smiles-the-seattle-freeze-is-on/ |title=Our Social Dis-ease: Beyond the smiles, the Seattle Freeze is on |date=February 13, 2005 |last=Sommerfeld|first=Julia |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |department=Pacific NW Magazine |access-date=February 6, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105082656/http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/our-social-dis-ease-beyond-the-smiles-the-seattle-freeze-is-on/}}</ref> though the ''Seattle Daily Times'' described the phenomenon as early as the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/image/page/v2:127D718D1E33F961@EANX-12A7B9F3A7E28956@2431853-12A7B36A03C830FD@5?p=AMNEWS |url-access=registration |title=Such Discussion Can Help Build A Better City|date= February 1, 1946 |work=[[The Seattle Daily Times]]|page=6|access-date= May 14, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Berger">{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Knute |title=Transplants vs. locals is the cultural permafrost always under Seattle's feet. |url=https://crosscut.com/2020/04/one-woman-war-against-seattles-icy-pricey-reputation?fbclid=IwAR0QPJBL91FQ8CtVBpOMskhGSIJ3d2qxwVV0ol41l759BhSO4DhDIPIC8vY |access-date=May 1, 2020 |publisher=Crosscut |date=April 30, 2020}}</ref>


Newcomers to the area have described [[Seattleite]]s as being standoffish, cold, distant, and distrustful,<ref>{{cite news|last=Lacitis|first=Erik|title=Friendless in Seattle: A popular website is used for relief from our chilly social scene|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/friendless-in-seattle-a-popular-web-site-is-used-for-relief-from-our-chilly-social-scene/|access-date=December 11, 2016|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=January 17, 2009}}</ref> while in settings such as bars and parties, people from Seattle tend to mainly interact with their particular [[clique]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Madison|first=Amber|title=Are All Guys Assholes?|year=2011|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-101-54755-7}}{{page needed|date=December 2013}}</ref> One author described the aversion to strangers as "people are very polite but not particularly friendly".<ref>{{cite book|last=Maria|first=Christensen|title=Newcomer's handbook for moving to and living in Seattle|year=2007|publisher=First Books|location=Portland, Oregon|isbn=978-0-912301-73-0|page=6|edition=3}}</ref> While some residents dispute the existence of the Seattle Freeze,<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Linda|title=The Seattle Freeze|access-date=June 25, 2012|publisher=KIRO|date=March 28, 2011|url=http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=646&sid=305849}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Judd|first=Ron|title=If you weren't born in Seattle or the Northwest, you'll never be one of us|access-date=December 13, 2016|publisher=Seattle Times - Pacific NW Magazine|date=January 9, 2015|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/if-you-werenrsquot-born-in-seattle-or-the-northwest-yoursquoll-never-be-one-of-us/}}</ref> a 2008 peer-reviewed study published in ''[[Perspectives on Psychological Science]]'' found that among all 50 states, Washington residents ranked 48th in the personality trait [[Extraversion and introversion|extraversion]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rentfrow|first1=Peter J.|last2=Gosling|first2=Samuel D.|last3=Potter|first3=Jeff|title=A Theory of the Emergence, Persistence, and Expression of Geographic Variation in Psychological Characteristics|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|date=September 2008|volume=3|issue=5|pages=339–369|doi=10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00084.x|pmid=26158954|s2cid=17059908}}</ref> In 2014, a similar report by the Seattle CityClub ranked the population 48th out of 50 similarly sized cities in activities such as "talking with neighbors frequently".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Permenter|first1=Cody|title=How I Learned to Love the Seattle Freeze|url=https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/seattle/how-i-learned-to-love-the-seattle-freeze|website=Thrillist|date=3 May 2016}}</ref> The rapid growth of [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] and its accompanying influx of largely young, male technology workers may have exacerbated the phenomenon.<ref>{{citation|last=Reifman|first=Jeff|title=Peepless in Seattle: Dating, Friendship and the Seattle Freeze|url=http://jeffreifman.com/2015/03/22/peepless-in-seattle-dating-friendship-and-the-seattle-freeze-after-forty|date=March 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{citation |publisher= Geekwire |title=Amageddon: How Amazon's culture is taking a toll on Seattle's future|url=http://www.geekwire.com/2014/commentary-amageddon-seattles-increasingly-obvious-future/|date=November 19, 2014}}</ref>
Newcomers to the area have described [[Seattleite]]s as being standoffish, cold, distant, and distrustful,<ref>{{cite news|last=Lacitis|first=Erik|title=Friendless in Seattle: A popular website is used for relief from our chilly social scene|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/friendless-in-seattle-a-popular-web-site-is-used-for-relief-from-our-chilly-social-scene/|access-date=December 11, 2016|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=January 17, 2009}}</ref> while in settings such as bars and parties, people from Seattle tend to mainly interact with their particular [[clique]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Madison|first=Amber|title=Are All Guys Assholes?|year=2011|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-101-54755-7}}{{page needed|date=December 2013}}</ref> One author described the aversion to strangers as "people are very polite but not particularly friendly".<ref>{{cite book|last=Maria|first=Christensen|title=Newcomer's handbook for moving to and living in Seattle|year=2007|publisher=First Books|location=Portland, Oregon|isbn=978-0-912301-73-0|page=6|edition=3}}</ref> While some residents dispute the existence of the Seattle Freeze,<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Linda|title=The Seattle Freeze|access-date=June 25, 2012|publisher=KIRO|date=March 28, 2011|url=http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=646&sid=305849}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Judd|first=Ron|title=If you weren't born in Seattle or the Northwest, you'll never be one of us|access-date=December 13, 2016|publisher=Seattle Times - Pacific NW Magazine|date=January 9, 2015|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/if-you-werenrsquot-born-in-seattle-or-the-northwest-yoursquoll-never-be-one-of-us/}}</ref> a 2008 peer-reviewed study published in ''[[Perspectives on Psychological Science]]'' found that among all 50 states, Washington residents ranked 48th in the personality trait [[Extraversion and introversion|extraversion]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rentfrow|first1=Peter J.|last2=Gosling|first2=Samuel D.|last3=Potter|first3=Jeff|title=A Theory of the Emergence, Persistence, and Expression of Geographic Variation in Psychological Characteristics|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|date=September 2008|volume=3|issue=5|pages=339–369|doi=10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00084.x|pmid=26158954|s2cid=17059908}}</ref> In 2014, a similar report by the Seattle CityClub ranked the population 48th out of 50 similarly sized cities in activities such as "talking with neighbors frequently".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Permenter|first1=Cody|title=How I Learned to Love the Seattle Freeze|url=https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/seattle/how-i-learned-to-love-the-seattle-freeze|website=Thrillist|date=3 May 2016}}</ref> The rapid growth of [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] and its accompanying influx of technology workers who could be considered more introverted than other working professionals may have exacerbated this phenomenon.<ref>{{citation|last=Reifman|first=Jeff|title=Peepless in Seattle: Dating, Friendship and the Seattle Freeze|url=http://jeffreifman.com/2015/03/22/peepless-in-seattle-dating-friendship-and-the-seattle-freeze-after-forty|date=March 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{citation |publisher= Geekwire |title=Amageddon: How Amazon's culture is taking a toll on Seattle's future|url=http://www.geekwire.com/2014/commentary-amageddon-seattles-increasingly-obvious-future/|date=November 19, 2014}}</ref>


It has been speculated that the origin of the phenomenon could stem from the reserved personalities of the city's early [[Nordic countries|Nordic]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Wing|first=Jennifer|title=Why is the 'Seattle Freeze' so hard to melt?|url=http://kpluwonders.org/content/why-seattle-freeze-so-hard-melt|publisher=KPLU|access-date=June 20, 2012}}</ref> and Asian immigrants.<ref name=Sommerfeld2014/> Other reasons may include the emotional effects of the [[Seattle#Climate|climate]] (such as [[Seasonal Affective Disorder]]), or the region's history of independent-minded [[American pioneer|pioneers]].<ref name=Sommerfeld2014/><ref>{{cite news|last=Rolph|first=Amy|title=The Seattle Freeze: Real or all in your head?|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/01/06/the-seattle-freeze-real-or-all-in-your-head/|access-date=June 20, 2012|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=January 6, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Balk|first=Gene|title=Seattle Freeze: Can we blame it on the Norwegians?|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/fyi-guy/2012/12/04/seattle-freeze-can-we-blame-it-on-the-norwegians/|access-date=Dec 4, 2012|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=December 4, 2012}}</ref>
It has been speculated that the origin of the phenomenon could stem from the reserved personalities of the city's early [[Nordic countries|Nordic]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Wing|first=Jennifer|title=Why is the 'Seattle Freeze' so hard to melt?|url=http://kpluwonders.org/content/why-seattle-freeze-so-hard-melt|publisher=KPLU|access-date=June 20, 2012}}</ref> and Asian immigrants.<ref name=Sommerfeld2014/> Other reasons may include the emotional effects of the [[Seattle#Climate|climate]] (such as [[Seasonal Affective Disorder]]), or the region's history of independent-minded [[American pioneer|pioneers]].<ref name=Sommerfeld2014/><ref>{{cite news|last=Rolph|first=Amy|title=The Seattle Freeze: Real or all in your head?|url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/01/06/the-seattle-freeze-real-or-all-in-your-head/|access-date=June 20, 2012|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=January 6, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Balk|first=Gene|title=Seattle Freeze: Can we blame it on the Norwegians?|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/fyi-guy/2012/12/04/seattle-freeze-can-we-blame-it-on-the-norwegians/|access-date=Dec 4, 2012|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=December 4, 2012}}</ref>

Revision as of 20:08, 19 August 2021

The term Seattle Freeze refers to a widely held belief that it is especially difficult to make new friends in the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington, particularly for transplants from other cities. A 2005 Seattle Times article appears to be the first known use of the term,[1][2] though the Seattle Daily Times described the phenomenon as early as the 1940s.[3][4]

Newcomers to the area have described Seattleites as being standoffish, cold, distant, and distrustful,[5] while in settings such as bars and parties, people from Seattle tend to mainly interact with their particular clique.[6] One author described the aversion to strangers as "people are very polite but not particularly friendly".[7] While some residents dispute the existence of the Seattle Freeze,[8][9] a 2008 peer-reviewed study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that among all 50 states, Washington residents ranked 48th in the personality trait extraversion.[10] In 2014, a similar report by the Seattle CityClub ranked the population 48th out of 50 similarly sized cities in activities such as "talking with neighbors frequently".[11] The rapid growth of Amazon and its accompanying influx of technology workers who could be considered more introverted than other working professionals may have exacerbated this phenomenon.[12][13]

It has been speculated that the origin of the phenomenon could stem from the reserved personalities of the city's early Nordic[14] and Asian immigrants.[2] Other reasons may include the emotional effects of the climate (such as Seasonal Affective Disorder), or the region's history of independent-minded pioneers.[2][15][16]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle was the first major U.S. city affected and began implementing social distancing measures earlier than other regions. The Seattle Freeze was cited as a factor in the pandemic's slowdown by late March and below-average speed of disease spread across Washington state.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jim Gates (March 17, 2014). "Is The Seattle Freeze A Real Thing?". KUOW.
  2. ^ a b c Sommerfeld, Julia (February 13, 2005). "Our Social Dis-ease: Beyond the smiles, the Seattle Freeze is on". Pacific NW Magazine. The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Such Discussion Can Help Build A Better City". The Seattle Daily Times. February 1, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Berger, Knute (April 30, 2020). "Transplants vs. locals is the cultural permafrost always under Seattle's feet". Crosscut. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  5. ^ Lacitis, Erik (January 17, 2009). "Friendless in Seattle: A popular website is used for relief from our chilly social scene". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Madison, Amber (2011). Are All Guys Assholes?. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-54755-7.[page needed]
  7. ^ Maria, Christensen (2007). Newcomer's handbook for moving to and living in Seattle (3 ed.). Portland, Oregon: First Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-912301-73-0.
  8. ^ Thomas, Linda (March 28, 2011). "The Seattle Freeze". KIRO. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  9. ^ Judd, Ron (January 9, 2015). "If you weren't born in Seattle or the Northwest, you'll never be one of us". Seattle Times - Pacific NW Magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  10. ^ Rentfrow, Peter J.; Gosling, Samuel D.; Potter, Jeff (September 2008). "A Theory of the Emergence, Persistence, and Expression of Geographic Variation in Psychological Characteristics". Perspectives on Psychological Science. 3 (5): 339–369. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00084.x. PMID 26158954. S2CID 17059908.
  11. ^ Permenter, Cody (3 May 2016). "How I Learned to Love the Seattle Freeze". Thrillist.
  12. ^ Reifman, Jeff (March 22, 2015), Peepless in Seattle: Dating, Friendship and the Seattle Freeze
  13. ^ Amageddon: How Amazon's culture is taking a toll on Seattle's future, Geekwire, November 19, 2014
  14. ^ Wing, Jennifer. "Why is the 'Seattle Freeze' so hard to melt?". KPLU. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  15. ^ Rolph, Amy (January 6, 2012). "The Seattle Freeze: Real or all in your head?". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  16. ^ Balk, Gene (December 4, 2012). "Seattle Freeze: Can we blame it on the Norwegians?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved Dec 4, 2012.
  17. ^ Baker, Mike (March 29, 2020). "Coronavirus Slowdown in Seattle Suggests Restrictions Are Working". The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  18. ^ P-I, Alex Halverson, Seattle (2021-01-04). "Washington has the third-lowest COVID-19 spread in US". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2021-02-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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