The future of Bellevue and the Eastside (Seattle, Tacoma: neighborhoods, movie theater)

[LongDawson]

Oh I see, the racial chit-sheet guy chimes in with DNA percentages. Whatever. 1993 is calling. New generation notably on eastside exhibits enormous percentage of mixed race kids including my own. Chit sheet guys get pretty stifled at that...

[eskercurve]

All this talk about "watching your back" while in Seattle is HILARIOUS! Look, go to the South Side of Chicago and THEN tell me Seattle is dangerous. Seattle is hardly dangerous and people spewing ignorance about being " in danger " while in Seattle are stupid.

As for the bums and dirt and other things ... eh, some people care, some don't. If you're a pretentious and superficial East Sider, I forgive you.

[seattlenextyear]

I think walkability has many components: how far do I have to walk, how safe am I (are there sidewalks and crosswalks for example), how pleasant is the walk, and what can I do once I get there. I find places like Wallingford or Green Lake or Greenwood Ave to be pleasantly walkable: close to residences, generally safe, and cool bars/restaurants/businesses to hang out in once you get there. Much less desirable is walking up a major street to a strip mall with a Blockbuster and a Starbucks seperated from the sidewalk by a large parking lot.

There are walkable neighborhoods on the Eastside too, for example, the Market area of Kirkland, Main street Bothell, even dowtown Bellevue if you enjoy the tall building scenery. I suppose the downtown Redmond near the town center is walkable too, but I never see anyone walking there.

[redrum]

Originally Posted by LongDawson

Oh I see, the racial chit-sheet guy chimes in with DNA percentages. Whatever. 1993 is calling. New generation notably on eastside exhibits enormous percentage of mixed race kids including my own. Chit sheet guys get pretty stifled at that...

For someone who doesn't like stats, you're pretty quick to come up with an "enormous percentage" figure. You'll find a lot of mixed kids on military bases abroad...do you consider those diverse environments?

[Ira500]

Seattlenextyear touches on something talking about walkability. What good is walkability if there's nothing to walk to? Older downtowns and older neighborhoods seem to have a longer history of walkability, which is why downtown Kirkland has it, but downtown Bellevue didn't get it until more recently, as it was developed more as an auto focused suburb. But recent planning has been heading in that direction, with stores closer to the sidewalk and parking in the rear.

[Heiwos]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

All this talk about "watching your back" while in Seattle is HILARIOUS! Look, go to the South Side of Chicago and THEN tell me Seattle is dangerous. Seattle is hardly dangerous and people spewing ignorance about being " in danger " while in Seattle are stupid.

Sure, it's relative. Yesterday's news featured a guy who remembers being in Pioneer Square one moment, and being in the hospital the next. Muggings are not uncommon in Seattle. They are rare on the Eastside.

[Sonnenwende]

Originally Posted by Tangy

As an outsider from Ohio I found it lovely and wondered how anyone could afford to live there if they were not making over $200k a year. I live in a similar area here in Ohio but the home prices are 1/3 of the cost. Fine for many but not all.

That's what everyone thought who didn't live in a boom market. I remember back in 2004 reading an article about how Midwestern would-be relocatees freaked out and refused to move to California after seeing the real estate prices. They thought they were getting a massive pay raise until they saw how much it was to live there. When the article said houses were 'normally' costing 500k+ in some major California areas, I went and tried to find out how much the usual salary was there. I was surprised to find that you'd get a few grand a year more, but nothing that would justify the prices. So, I had no idea how these people were affording those houses. It seemed a real mystery until early 2007. Then it all made sense. People couldn't afford the houses. It was all a huge scam.

Don't worry. If you want to move out there, prices will fall in the Seattle area so that they are far more affordable even if the sellers fight and kick the whole way down.

[pwright1]

Originally Posted by Heiwos

pwright1, where have you walked in Bellevue?

This past week I walked around both Seattle and Bellevue. There's certainly a greater concentration of stuff in Seattle, which is nice; however, when you factor in the panhandlers and the need to be extra alert, Bellevue comes out looking pretty good in comparison. In Bellevue, if I come across a trail I haven't seen before, I can confidently venture forth, whereas in Seattle it's a safe bet I'll stumble into someone's makeshift encampment, or worse. Many parks around downtown Seattle are useless. E.g. Denny Park.

Of course any Bellevueite can combine the bus to get the best of both worlds. I'm fond of bussing to some cheap good eat in Seattle, walking from there to a favorite coffee shop, then take the bus back to Bellevue, sometimes walking back from a park & ride, through parks & trails. The bus is reading time.

The thing is suburbanites always seem to talk about safety/panhandlers but as many cities as I lived Seattle is quite gentle. In Seattle I feel quite safe walking the (gasp!!!) big city streets. I walk around dt Bellevue 5 days a week. I work in dt Bellevue. No matter how many times you talk about walking, the auto/suv will always be king in Bellevue. I even tried to stroll over to the Bellevue Art Museum and it was closed. How nice.

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by Heiwos

Having lived in both Seattle and Bellevue, I find the latter to be similarly walkable in parts. I'm not interested in walking to a mom-and-pop bookstore for its tiny selection, or schlepping home groceries. I'm more interested in walking to a Blockbuster, coffee shop, or park, and not having to watch my back so much. Bellevue has lots of trails, if only the sidewalk variety. Issaquah, where I've also lived, might be more walkable than either Bellevue or Seattle, esp. if you're willing to walk a couple miles.

Issaquah more walkable than Seattle or Bellevue...now I've heard it all. I've never had to push a button and wait over 5 minutes to cross a freeway overpass like I have in Issaquah (actually this happens in Bellevue too). I've never had to walk over a mile just to get some decent food, like I have in Issaquah. Working in Seattle vs. working in Issaquah is like night and day. Nothing in Issaquah is scaled to enable walking, save for a few tiny pockets here and there.

Also, no offense, but you'd have to be scared of your own shadow to feel threatened by the panhandlers around here (yes there have been recent incidents of violence, but that has been late at night with people failing to use common sense).

[robertpolyglot]

Bellevue:Seattle
Lake Oswego:Portland
Walnut Creeek:San Francisco

Actually, the "look" is more Lake Oswego but the "set-up" is more Walnut Creek. It's "work" to get to Bellevue, but way more work (and money) to get to Walnut Creek.

The rail absolutely needs to go to the East Side. And I can't believe the 520 Bridge is still 2 lanes in each direction. Most city boulevards have more capacity than that! It's that relative isolation that caused Bellevue to become a satellite downtown/edge city rathern than a quaint suburb.