People say Seattle is an unfriendly city, but that’s not quite true: It’s actually a cold, gloomy, cliquish, cultish, and unfriendly city. As you will soon find out, it’s also not an easy place to make friends. This is especially true if you don’t believe in astrology, which wide swaths of Seattle are as devoted to as nuns are to God.
I learned this the hard way, and more than once. When I first moved here five years ago (it feels more like 50), I went out with a potential new friend who immediately asked for my astrological sign. “Wait!” she said. “Let me guess.” She got it right on the twelfth try. Right around then, I remembered that I had a late-night dentist appointment and left. And that was one of my more successful friend dates.
I never had trouble meeting people before Seattle. At first, I did the thing you are supposed to do to meet people: I joined a running club. Just kidding! Why would anyone do that? I actually went to bars and tried talking to people. This technique had been successful in other cities—but in Seattle, I found that most people were less interested in strangers than in their iPhones.
