Bellevue, Washington

The Pacific Northwest is known for its breathtaking views and natural beauty and Bellevue is no exception. A suburb of Seattle on Lake Washington, you can go kayaking, boating, and swimming all within city limits. Bellevue is also known for having some of western Washington’s best parks, perfect for hiking, biking, camping, and for having festivals! Don’t miss out on the huge holiday ice rink that goes up every winter.

Here's a local on what's wonderful about Bellevue: Bellevue is like many of the cities outside of San Francisco, e.g.; Walnut Creek or La Mesa outside of San Diego. It's expensive, nice, a place you'd want to raise a family. And, yes, the sky is grey and rainy months on end, but when the sun shines, there is no place more beautiful than the Northwest. Forget the grey and grab your shades -- it won't last long. :)

You don’t get beautiful nature, great schools, and close proximity to a major city without a major price tag. Due to both close proximity to Seattle and an increase in population due to the tech boom, housing prices in Bellevue have gotten higher and higher in recent years. The current median home price is just under $1M. That being said, if you’re moving to Bellevue to get away from the big city life in Seattle, you might not balk at home prices like people who are moving from smaller cities.

Here's a local about costs of living in Bellevue: It is extremely expensive to live here. We don’t have income tax, but taxes are expensive on everything else…we are already over $4/gallon for gasoline at Costco (just filled up a few days ago). Rent is super expensive and people rent because housing is extremely expensive. Houses around where I live (Lake Hills/Crossroads/East Bellevue). One just down the street sold for >$900k . 1000 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 1 bath.

The residents of Bellevue tend to be older and affluent, due to the nature of the housing prices. There is a younger crowd that live in Bellevue because they work in the city and want to avoid the notorious commutes the people always complain about. That being said, most of their free time will still be spent in Seattle for late night or weekend plans.

If you want to see what locals do for fun in Bellevue check out the calendar of events: https://www.bellevuedowntown.com/events/calendar