[shermantanktop]

Aka “Seattle Nice.”

People move to a place, are eager to get connected, but the people there are already connected…except for all the other lonely newbies. It’s a boom-town phenomenon, I think.

And if you are a long-time resident, it’s a little rich having large numbers of people come clog up your town while doing clueless newbie things and then gripe about how they don’t feel welcome.

[karaterobot]

I've lived in Seattle for 25 years, have been hearing about "Seattle Nice" and "The Seattle Freeze" that whole time. By which they mean that people are friendly and polite on a surface level, but cold and distant when you try to get closer. I think it's a myth, or at any rate I have never experienced it as a trend (individuals, sure). People here are as nice as anywhere else I've been. I think maybe it's confirmation bias: people hear about it, then see it everywhere, like stereotypes about rude New Yorkers, or snooty Parisians.

It would be strange if whole a region, with such a huge population of transplants, all shared the same personality. They don't make you sign a contract to be rude when you move here!

[morkalork]

I've never been to Seattle but this description is erfectly apt for Toronto.

[shermantanktop]

“Seattle freeze” is like “Seattle drivers”. The chances are pretty high that the dumdum who is double-parked in a bus lane while cars honk at them is actually not from Seattle.

[lostemptations5]

Though in other cities you can make friends much more easily, especially on the East Coast...

[charles_f]

Because immigration is not as strong.

[charles_f]

(note, sounds racist, but not what I meant. What I meant is that when there's a lot of people coming, it's mechanically harder for people to enter pre-existing social groups, thus the impression that people are not welcoming)

[pfannkuchen]

Newbies who just moved in are much more likely to leave as well. Why invest the time?

[cjbgkagh]

For newbies often it's their first time as an expat or immigrant but for the natives usually they've been through these waves of immigrants multiple times already.