11 fun ways to thaw the Seattle Freeze

It’s not easy being the new kid in town. Especially when you’re single, and even more so when the town is Seattle – legendary for the “Seattle Freeze.” Sure, locals will be polite, but you could wait years to hear anyone say, “Dinner at our house?”

Rather than wait around, create your own warming trend and start making new friends. Here’s our roundup of the top 10 ways to beat the Seattle Freeze.

Join a group

Tap into a ready-made social network when you join a club. Group activities offer a wide range of options. Or try a professionally managed organization like Events & Adventures. For 30 years, the club has been bringing together single Seattleites to connect for fun and friendship. From bowling to bonfires, car shows to camping trips, E&A fills its members’ calendars with a dizzying array of activities.

Club member Larry Mayotte moved here from Minnesota last year, and quickly found his social lifeline through E&A. On his first weekend in town, he boarded a boat for a weekend in Victoria with the group. Last month, it was an outing to see Cirque du Soleil. Larry’s son recently told him, “You’ve done more out here in your first year than I have in five!”

Solve a puzzle

Meet new people and skip the small talk when you join a “puzzle escape” event organized by E&A. Locked in a themed room filled with movie-inspired clues, you’ll team up to solve a puzzle and move on to other rooms. Social bonding is built into the experience: “You’ll notice that your partner is a good observer, or good at organizing clues,” says Yilin Huang, owner of Flee, a puzzle escape room on the East Side.

Go for a hike

Seattle is surrounded by natural wonders that beckon to be explored. Hiking is more fun when you go with a group, whether it’s the vaunted Mountaineers Club, a neighborhood group, or Events & Adventures, which organizes both day hikes and holiday camping events for its members.

Take a cooking class

Get new culinary know-how and make new friends at the same time. For a classroom approach, try local grocer PCC, which features health-conscious choices. For more of a dinner party vibe – complete with adult beverages – go with Events & Adventures. Members explore everything from Tibetan to Greek food, bonding as they enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Hop on your bike

Cascade Bicycle Club organizes free group bike rides every day of the week. Take a leisurely pedal to a local bakery, or tackle a vigorous vertical climb. Rides are organized by speed and take place all over the Puget Sound area.

Go hot tubbing

In summer, Events & Adventures organizes a flotilla of fun for its members: A houseboat brimming with mimosas is joined on Lake Union by two Hot Tub Boats. These craft feature onboard hot tubs that hold up to six people. “You can really thaw the Seattle Freeze by getting together with new friends and having a great experience on a lake,” says company co-founder Adam Karpenske.

Get silly

Rediscover the fun in fitness with a game of bubble soccer. You’ll don a giant plastic orb, run around a soccer field, bounce into teammates and laugh yourself silly.

Talk to people in line

Say hello to fellow customers the next time you’re waiting to buy groceries or ice cream. Pro tip: Every time you want to complain about the Seattle Freeze, challenge yourself to strike up a conversation.

Root for your home team

Tickets to Mariners and Sounders games are becoming an ever-hotter commodity. Events & Adventures organizes outings – and manages the ticketing hassles – to turn solo Seattleites into cheering sections.

Get political

There’s nothing like politics to thaw even the most reserved Seattle façade. Join one of the many neighborhood-based groups, such as Seattle Indivisible, that have mushroomed since November.

Let Fido help

Seattle’s dog parks are proven breeding grounds for human friendships. Go one better at Seattle Cider Company, where Events & Adventures members bring their canine companions to meet for cider, beer and house-made dog treats.

It’s tough to make new friends – let alone find romance – as a single adult. Joining a club like Events & Adventures can relieve the pressure and open the door to new connections. “Not everyone joins for romance,” says events manager Curtis Boyd. “Lots join for community. It really helps to smooth that rough edge of being the new person.”

Meet a community of dynamic singles and get together for group social events. In a group, there’s no pressure, everyone relaxes, and you can be yourself. Events & Adventures is a club of people like you spending social time having fun.