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I just moved away from Seattle after spending two years there - it's a place I'd probably go back to once I'm older, but IMO it's not the best place to spend yo

I just moved away from Seattle after spending two years there - it's a place I'd probably go back to once I'm older, but IMO it's not the best place to spend your 20s. The neighborhoods are nice, there's a lot of nature - you're close to mountains, parks, and water practically always. The weather is relatively mild (if a little dreary for most of the year), and the politics relatively progressive (well, sort of, all of Washington state except Seattle is pretty much very pro-Republican). The social scene though, leaves a lot to be desired. Google "Seattle Freeze" for a much more in-depth look at the problem than I can write up. Locals deny it exists, anyone transplanted from another city swears by it. I find myself in the Bay Area now and find people far more approachable, and far more willing to make a new friend, whereas in Seattle one finds a lot more polite-yet-distant interactions, none of which ever seem to go anywhere. Making that worse is the fact that the social scene in Seattle is very much locals vs. transplants - which is to say neither side interact with each other very much. For people on the transplant side (where transplants are mostly tech people) it means your circles get pretty homogenous. Nearly all of my friends from my time in Seattle worked in software (either Amazon, Microsoft, or a smattering of other local companies). Right now I'm still in that place in life where I enjoy making new friends and meeting varied and interesting people, and Seattle was really not doing it for me. I've had a much easier go at it since moving to California, and I can't say I really miss Seattle.

Raphael 15y ago
Wow, I thought I was just bad at making friends. But I almost never seem to meet anyone around Seattle.
- potatolicious 15y ago
  That's kind of one of the more insidious things about living in Seattle, isn't it? You start out bitching about how hard it is to make friends. And then, after a while, this doubt sneaks into your mind: is it me? Do I suck at this socialization thing a lot more than I realized? Oh God it's me isn't it. I thought the same, then I moved to SF and the number of people I befriended in the first few weeks is staggering compared to the number of people I managed to meet in the two years I was in Seattle. So...
  - khafra 15y ago
    It could be worse. I grew up in Seattle, and never made any friends until years after I'd moved away and finally realized it was possible.
- llambda 15y ago
  I'll second the opinion that Seattle has a difficult social scene: it is hard to meet new people and the local culture doesn't seem to have adopted much of a nightlife. When I lived there most recently I was having a hard time finding places that actually stayed open past 10. Naturally there's a few bars in downtown Seattle and some clubs but on the whole it's a little disappointing if you're in your 20s and looking to have a fun night.
allenp 15y ago
Anyone interested in this difficulty in meeting/getting to know people in the northwest may want to look up the phrase "nice-olation" for some articles on this topic.
jinushaun 15y ago
The way to beat the freeze is social circles. This is true of any city, but very important in Seattle. In Seattle, the way to make friends is to join a group activity; whether that is school, work, a social club like Seattle Anti-Freeze, or a social sports club like kickball, hiking or running. Friends of friends is also huge. Seattleites are very insular—whether individually or in a group. They have their friends and don't need any more. That is to say, they already have so much fun with their current friends that they don't have energy for more. So to make friends, you have to already be in the group. You really have to be already "invited" because school or work dictates it. And you really have to be persistent. All my friends are from work, school or friends of friends. You don't meet random people in Seattle. I recently moved from Seattle to DC and the social scene here is bad for other reasons, namely "what can you do for me?" Everyone is networking and trying to get ahead. No one just wants to hang out.

Raphael 15y ago

Wow, I thought I was just bad at making friends. But I almost never seem to meet anyone around Seattle.

potatolicious 15y ago
That's kind of one of the more insidious things about living in Seattle, isn't it? You start out bitching about how hard it is to make friends. And then, after a while, this doubt sneaks into your mind: is it me? Do I suck at this socialization thing a lot more than I realized? Oh God it's me isn't it. I thought the same, then I moved to SF and the number of people I befriended in the first few weeks is staggering compared to the number of people I managed to meet in the two years I was in Seattle. So...
- khafra 15y ago
  It could be worse. I grew up in Seattle, and never made any friends until years after I'd moved away and finally realized it was possible.
llambda 15y ago
I'll second the opinion that Seattle has a difficult social scene: it is hard to meet new people and the local culture doesn't seem to have adopted much of a nightlife. When I lived there most recently I was having a hard time finding places that actually stayed open past 10. Naturally there's a few bars in downtown Seattle and some clubs but on the whole it's a little disappointing if you're in your 20s and looking to have a fun night.

allenp 15y ago

Anyone interested in this difficulty in meeting/getting to know people in the northwest may want to look up the phrase "nice-olation" for some articles on this topic.

jinushaun 15y ago

The way to beat the freeze is social circles. This is true of any city, but very important in Seattle. In Seattle, the way to make friends is to join a group activity; whether that is school, work, a social club like Seattle Anti-Freeze, or a social sports club like kickball, hiking or running. Friends of friends is also huge. Seattleites are very insular—whether individually or in a group. They have their friends and don't need any more. That is to say, they already have so much fun with their current friends that they don't have energy for more. So to make friends, you have to already be in the group. You really have to be already "invited" because school or work dictates it. And you really have to be persistent. All my friends are from work, school or friends of friends. You don't meet random people in Seattle. I recently moved from Seattle to DC and the social scene here is bad for other reasons, namely "what can you do for me?" Everyone is networking and trying to get ahead. No one just wants to hang out.