Seattle Freeze

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 largely young, male technology workers may have exacerbated the 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.[17]