Perhaps the Seattle Freeze isn’t as strong as we thought. Seattle was just included in a ranking of the best cities in the world for a thriving social life.
According to self-professed health insurance experts Compare the Market, Seattle is the fifth-best city in America for a social life.
Some of the criteria they weighed included the number of meet-up groups, social locations such as coffee shops, searches for friendship apps, and overall inclusiveness.
Here is their justification for Seattle’s high ranking:
“Despite Seattle being infamously ‘unfriendly’, our data demonstrates that it scores highly in the Inclusiveness Index Ranking, meetup events per 100,000 people, and the number of pubs and coffee shops per 100,000 people factors.”
They also said that Seattle is “the second-best area in America for social hangout spots,” after Portland, Oregon. Having a “third place” (a place to spend time besides work and home) is essential for building a social life in your community. Luckily, Seattle has plenty of those. See our local guides below:
- The 10 Best Coffee Shops In Seattle According To Locals
- The Best Vietnamese Coffee Shops in Seattle
- The Best Bars in Seattle According to Locals
- Stitch Cafe In Seattle Provides A Cozy Third Place For Crafters
- The Top 10 Cozy Used Bookstores In Seattle
- 13 Must-Visit Independent Bookstores In Seattle
Curious about how other cities stacked up against Seattle? Here is the full list of US cities on their ranking:
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Portland, Oregon
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Seattle, WA
Minneapolis had a total score of 77.49 out of 100 while Seattle’s score was 68.81.
On a global scale, the highest ranked city in Europe was Dublin, Ireland and the highest ranked city in Australia was Canberra.
You can read more over on Compare the Market.