Seattle Freeze
The Seattle Freeze refers to a belief that it is especially difficult to make new friends (particularly for transplants from other cities) in the city of Seattle, Washington. According to KUOW radio, a 2005 Seattle Times article was the oldest reference to the term found.[1][2]
Newcomers to the area have described Seattleites as being standoffish, cold, distant, and not trusting.[3] While in settings such as bars and parties, people from Seattle tend to mainly interact with their particular clique.[4] One author described the aversion to strangers as: "people are very polite but not particularly friendly."[5] In 2008 a peer-reviewed study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that among all states, Washington residents ranked 48th in the personality trait extroverted.[6] Some residents dispute the existence of the Seattle Freeze.[7][8] The rapid growth of Amazon[9] and its accompanying influx of largely young, male technology workers may be making the problem worse.[10]
It has been speculated that the origin of the phenomenon stems from the reserved personalities of the city's early Nordic[11] and Japanese immigrants.[12] Other reasons might include the emotional effects of the climate or the region's history of independent-minded pioneers.[12][13][14]
See also
References
- ^ Jim Gates (March 17, 2014), Is The Seattle Freeze A Real Thing?, KUOW
- ^ 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 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Lacitis, Erik (January 17, 2009). "Friendless in Seattle: A popular Web site is used for relief from our chilly social scene". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ Madison, Amber (2011). Are All Guys Assholes?. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-54755-7.[page needed]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Thomas, Linda (March 28, 2011). "The Seattle Freeze". KIRO. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ 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 January 9, 2015.
- ^ Amageddon: How Amazon’s culture is taking a toll on Seattle’s future, Geekwire, November 19, 2014
- ^ Reifman, Jeff (March 22, 2015), Peepless in Seattle: Dating, Friendship and the Seattle Freeze
- ^ Wing, Jennifer. "Why is the 'Seattle Freeze' so hard to melt?". KPLU. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ a b Sommerfeld, Julia (February 13, 2005). "Our Social Dis-ease: Beyond the smiles, the Seattle Freeze is on". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ Rolph, Amy (January 6, 2012). "The Seattle Freeze: Real or all in your head?". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ Balk, Gene (December 4, 2012). "Seattle Freeze: Can we blame it on the Norwegians?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved Dec 4, 2012.