One of the Seattle area’s less appealing qualities goes by many names, be it the ‘Northwest Nice,’ ‘Seattle Freeze,’ or simply standoffish. It’s the idea that transplants to the region have a difficult time making friends in the frigid Northwest, and it’s an issue Kenmore’s  Antoine El Daher hopes to tackle with the release of his brand-new app.

Patook is the 32-year-old’s brainchild, which he’s developed over the past two years and released last week. The app is designed to facilitate friendships and community involvement instead of dating or business networking.

It combines social-networking sensibilities with real-time localized discussion feeds, and a rating system which allows users to share their interests and connect with other like-minded users.

“The ultimate goal is for you to connect to other people in a meaningful way,” Daher said. “When you’re an adult, it’s not very easy to just make friends out of thin air.”

Daher is no stranger to the Freeze. Since moving to the area ten years ago, he’s dealt with the phenomena as well.

He stressed the app isn’t for hooking up, like Tinder, but for finding platonic friends, and he hopes to keep cultivating a warm and inviting environment where people feel at ease.

While doing market research for Patook, Daher surveyed about 2,000 people on their experiences meeting new people in cities. He found 35 percent of people said it was very hard, and 50 percent of transplants within a five-year window said it was very difficult to make friends.

Though it only launched last week, Daher said the feedback he’s received is promising, particularly from expatriates, students and people over 50.

“For these people, sometimes it takes a long time to make new connections,” he said. “I like for people to make great friends wherever they go.”

“The people who log onto it like it,” he said. “It’s a pretty friendly atmosphere.”

The app is available online for iPhones and Android and is free for all users.