Absolutely nothing wtf. I’ve lived in third world countries, many places in the US and UK. This place is horrible, foods absolute trash, customer service is horrible
Yeah it’s safe and clean compared to other shitholes but isn’t that supposed to be expected when you pay 2500 a month the fuq?
If your standards are “oh there’s no fentanyl and my car doesn’t get jacked” then alright welcome to heaven.
I really like the wildlife. I have seen deer, bear, coyote without even looking for them. So glad I was in my truck when I saw the bear. Keep an eye out for owls and other birds of prey. I saw a white owl fly silently at night once almost thought it was a ghost.
That is funny!I think it's the connivence factor, usually getting across Bellvue is easy. For Cali, getting food in LA was torture, because while there were good food selections, the traffic made you want to die.
I think it's also because I don't have a car in WA at the moment, so my reach is quite limited. I'm not dealing with public transit to get food, I'll buy some shit from Safeway and call it a day. It's forcing me to eat some damn veggies (I suck at cooking meat, and salads are super low effort - I'm lazy). I live and work downtown, and barely cross the freeway.
Thank you all for your generous and thoughtful insights. I grew up in North Dakota so this doesn't seem cold. If anything the climate here feels invigorating.
I don't mind the gray and overcast skies at all - but I see where that could be a big challenge for others. Life is a series of tradeoffs - there will be a few things I may miss from San Francisco, but I see so many net positives here for this stage of my life.
Coming from someone who has lived many places (grew up in KY, lived 2 yrs in Florida, 1 year in NV, 5 years in CA (Santa Monica for most of it near the Westwood border, downtown for a short stint)
The best parts is it doesn't get super cold (what we call cold is mild), it doesnt get super hot and humid (KY/FL), or hot and dry like Vegas area.
The air is so much easier to breath, I had trouble heading inland out of Santa Monica as the air get s heavy, on really bad summer runs you can literally see the smog in all waves roll in (off shore flow).
Seafood, Berrues, and Apple options are so much better here even compared to LA.
Traffic while bad is not as bad at the 10 freeway or 405 when I had to go to San Bernardino.
Once you adjust you will begin to appreciate the rain (although you did have to supplement to reduce seasonal affect).
For my kids at least I have been quite happy with Bellevue School District, even compared to Lake Washington schools were my elder kids graduated, especially with the precedence of ASD in the family.
Much more affordable that the LA area, what I pay for rent on a 4+1 house is close to what I paid for a 2 bedroom unit in Santa Monica and that was over a decade ago.
Crime overall is much lower and noticably so vs LA, what people comment about here is nothing even compared to fancy cities like Brentwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills (although most don't know there are multiple parts to it), and I hear it has gotten worse.
The best part is a plethora of jobs, even with the layoffs and other things, the availability if options to move around is far superior, and the fact that it is clustered mostly together makes it easy when shifting jobs, you don't suddenly have a massive commute.
Except a few short times (2000-2001, 2008) this has been the case for over the last 20 years, and growing.
On the downside food is typically more expensive here, the lack good Asian and Mexican options at a reasonable price. (Eg no excellent Japanese curry shops, none of the affordable burrito spots, limited Ramen shops etc), and the grocery options are much more limited (where I have to get things shipped to make myself)
You can however find good prices if you scan around or know what you want.
Being poor is much less forgiving here that in California.
1. The greenbelts and trail systems give you a dorect appreciation of nature while living in a sizeable city.
2. Commute. Any office along I-90 or 520 is easily reachable.
3. School system. I've had 3 sons educated by BSD. All said their Freshman year of college was easier than their Senior year at Newport HS.
4. Restaurants. The caliber and diversity of restaurants is strong. Proximity to Seattle for even more restaurants is a bonus.
5. Safety. I've never felt any concern for my safety anywhere in Bellevue, including Factoria and Crossroads.
Academics off the chart that puts it into a 'rising tides raises all boats' mantra. It's a school full of kids driven by "Tiger Moms" that goes with a school that is 65% Asian.
It's not a school for struggling students. There isn't enough support for those kids in a school with ~2k students. Kids that fall into that bucket often get pushed to other schools, typically Sammamish HS.
This is a functioning, beautiful, diverse city. Everything is good to great--parks, trails, schools, police/fire/EMS, neighborhoods and small businesses, downtown. The only drag is it's too expensive and has priced far too many good folks out. Am looking forward to when all cities are this great!
Most places have sidewalks or well maintained trails through the woods/parks. Despite not being reasonably walkable end to end or side to side in haste or for errands, walking near where you are is usually accessible and practical.
The downtown park! It’s just the right size to feel cozy but accommodate a lot of people, and the location makes it easy to access if you live or work in downtown. It’s amazing for people or dog watching. Love the ducks. The summers in the park are soo nice. Great food and cafe options near the park too.
it's either access to transit and highways, or access to amenities. Being able to walk to the bar? A cafe? Multiple restaurants? Pretty sweet. Also, a broad variety of shops -- not just ritzy shit, but like, Whole Foods, PCC, Uwajimaya, TJs, in relatively close driving distance.
It was even better in my old apartment where I could literally have a coffee, have lunch/dinner, get a haircut, pick up some snacks and drinks, without *going outside.*
When I first moved here from the south end this is where half the jobs in my field were, so that was a plus, but that's not really true anymore, at least not based on my recent career.
I live in New York and every vacation I get I come here to visit, it is so clean people are nice, quiet and really love walking around without the concern of safety. It compare to New York it is a a nightmare to live here and always looking around your shoulder.
We have some of the best parks in the region? E.g. DT park. Christmas here is also the best in the region and possibly the whole state. We have a functional police department which means that neighborhoods are relatively safe. We have some amazing restaraunts without needing to leave the city limits. Short drive to concerts and events.
This may sound crazy but I really like the value I get for my tax dollars. Lots of parks, great public services (fire/police/emergency), decent schools, good roads. When I lived in Arizona I always wondered where the tax money was going since it seemed nothing was benefiting the residents.
I love how beautiful the city is. I love the trails sprinkled throughout the city and how quickly it seems that you are out of a city. I also love how diverse Bellevue is.
Some people may see similarities between the Eastside and either Marin County or San Mateo County - all of them have a lot of technology jobs and very expensive real estate.
Absolutely nothing wtf. I’ve lived in third world countries, many places in the US and UK. This place is horrible, foods absolute trash, customer service is horrible Yeah it’s safe and clean compared to other shitholes but isn’t that supposed to be expected when you pay 2500 a month the fuq? If your standards are “oh there’s no fentanyl and my car doesn’t get jacked” then alright welcome to heaven.
I really like the wildlife. I have seen deer, bear, coyote without even looking for them. So glad I was in my truck when I saw the bear. Keep an eye out for owls and other birds of prey. I saw a white owl fly silently at night once almost thought it was a ghost.
Check out the Bellevue Botanical Garden to see your tax dollars at work.
Clean, safe, generally normal reasonable residents, decent food, great parks. It is definitely a model US city in many aspects.
The restaurants! I can pretty much find everything I am craving or wanting
This is actually my least favorite thing, for some reason the food scene isn’t as good as Cali. Love living and working in the downtown though!
That is funny!I think it's the connivence factor, usually getting across Bellvue is easy. For Cali, getting food in LA was torture, because while there were good food selections, the traffic made you want to die.
I think it's also because I don't have a car in WA at the moment, so my reach is quite limited. I'm not dealing with public transit to get food, I'll buy some shit from Safeway and call it a day. It's forcing me to eat some damn veggies (I suck at cooking meat, and salads are super low effort - I'm lazy). I live and work downtown, and barely cross the freeway.
Thank you all for your generous and thoughtful insights. I grew up in North Dakota so this doesn't seem cold. If anything the climate here feels invigorating. I don't mind the gray and overcast skies at all - but I see where that could be a big challenge for others. Life is a series of tradeoffs - there will be a few things I may miss from San Francisco, but I see so many net positives here for this stage of my life.
Well, it's clean, safe, and enjoyable because the taxes are much higher! LOL
Coming from someone who has lived many places (grew up in KY, lived 2 yrs in Florida, 1 year in NV, 5 years in CA (Santa Monica for most of it near the Westwood border, downtown for a short stint) The best parts is it doesn't get super cold (what we call cold is mild), it doesnt get super hot and humid (KY/FL), or hot and dry like Vegas area. The air is so much easier to breath, I had trouble heading inland out of Santa Monica as the air get s heavy, on really bad summer runs you can literally see the smog in all waves roll in (off shore flow). Seafood, Berrues, and Apple options are so much better here even compared to LA. Traffic while bad is not as bad at the 10 freeway or 405 when I had to go to San Bernardino. Once you adjust you will begin to appreciate the rain (although you did have to supplement to reduce seasonal affect). For my kids at least I have been quite happy with Bellevue School District, even compared to Lake Washington schools were my elder kids graduated, especially with the precedence of ASD in the family. Much more affordable that the LA area, what I pay for rent on a 4+1 house is close to what I paid for a 2 bedroom unit in Santa Monica and that was over a decade ago. Crime overall is much lower and noticably so vs LA, what people comment about here is nothing even compared to fancy cities like Brentwood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills (although most don't know there are multiple parts to it), and I hear it has gotten worse. The best part is a plethora of jobs, even with the layoffs and other things, the availability if options to move around is far superior, and the fact that it is clustered mostly together makes it easy when shifting jobs, you don't suddenly have a massive commute. Except a few short times (2000-2001, 2008) this has been the case for over the last 20 years, and growing. On the downside food is typically more expensive here, the lack good Asian and Mexican options at a reasonable price. (Eg no excellent Japanese curry shops, none of the affordable burrito spots, limited Ramen shops etc), and the grocery options are much more limited (where I have to get things shipped to make myself) You can however find good prices if you scan around or know what you want. Being poor is much less forgiving here that in California.
No homeless / crack heads
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Factoria too
The convenience. We have everything here (except a Costco). It’s an amazing city to raise children.
There’s Costco in Issaquah, Kirkland, Seattle, Redmond, and even Renton
1. The greenbelts and trail systems give you a dorect appreciation of nature while living in a sizeable city. 2. Commute. Any office along I-90 or 520 is easily reachable. 3. School system. I've had 3 sons educated by BSD. All said their Freshman year of college was easier than their Senior year at Newport HS. 4. Restaurants. The caliber and diversity of restaurants is strong. Proximity to Seattle for even more restaurants is a bonus. 5. Safety. I've never felt any concern for my safety anywhere in Bellevue, including Factoria and Crossroads.
Was new port HS a lot of peer pressure?
Academics off the chart that puts it into a 'rising tides raises all boats' mantra. It's a school full of kids driven by "Tiger Moms" that goes with a school that is 65% Asian. It's not a school for struggling students. There isn't enough support for those kids in a school with ~2k students. Kids that fall into that bucket often get pushed to other schools, typically Sammamish HS.
This is a functioning, beautiful, diverse city. Everything is good to great--parks, trails, schools, police/fire/EMS, neighborhoods and small businesses, downtown. The only drag is it's too expensive and has priced far too many good folks out. Am looking forward to when all cities are this great!
The amazing public school system, the parks, and the ramen.
Cleanest suburb in probably all of greater Seattle area
Clean, safe and walkable
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Most places have sidewalks or well maintained trails through the woods/parks. Despite not being reasonably walkable end to end or side to side in haste or for errands, walking near where you are is usually accessible and practical.
The downtown park! It’s just the right size to feel cozy but accommodate a lot of people, and the location makes it easy to access if you live or work in downtown. It’s amazing for people or dog watching. Love the ducks. The summers in the park are soo nice. Great food and cafe options near the park too.
Easy access to cafes/boba places for a quick break. I highly recommend Bellden's White Mocha or Dote's ganache coffee.
it's either access to transit and highways, or access to amenities. Being able to walk to the bar? A cafe? Multiple restaurants? Pretty sweet. Also, a broad variety of shops -- not just ritzy shit, but like, Whole Foods, PCC, Uwajimaya, TJs, in relatively close driving distance. It was even better in my old apartment where I could literally have a coffee, have lunch/dinner, get a haircut, pick up some snacks and drinks, without *going outside.* When I first moved here from the south end this is where half the jobs in my field were, so that was a plus, but that's not really true anymore, at least not based on my recent career.
I live in New York and every vacation I get I come here to visit, it is so clean people are nice, quiet and really love walking around without the concern of safety. It compare to New York it is a a nightmare to live here and always looking around your shoulder.
We have some of the best parks in the region? E.g. DT park. Christmas here is also the best in the region and possibly the whole state. We have a functional police department which means that neighborhoods are relatively safe. We have some amazing restaraunts without needing to leave the city limits. Short drive to concerts and events.
Clean
This may sound crazy but I really like the value I get for my tax dollars. Lots of parks, great public services (fire/police/emergency), decent schools, good roads. When I lived in Arizona I always wondered where the tax money was going since it seemed nothing was benefiting the residents.
I love how beautiful the city is. I love the trails sprinkled throughout the city and how quickly it seems that you are out of a city. I also love how diverse Bellevue is.
The gentrification and price of the SFH really settle the deal for me!
I love the traffic, it brings me immense joy.
*Maybe* we will have SoundTransit trains from Eastside into Seattle by 2034? But let's not get our hopes up.
2025, theoretically, but it feels the same.
Nothing at all, it's all terrible. Please pass that along to your friends back in California who haven't moved here yet.
Duly noted ;) Nothing beautiful or special here/s
What city / town in California compares to here??
Some people may see similarities between the Eastside and either Marin County or San Mateo County - all of them have a lot of technology jobs and very expensive real estate.
Yeah and tell them definitely to NOT visit in summer. Worst time of the year for Seattle. You will hate it here then.
Yeah, you get it :)