Bellevue versus Seattle (Everett, Federal Way, Renton: home, living in, zoning)

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by cafegirl21

How does Bellevue (the Bellevue Square area) compare to downtown Seattle (shopping, restaurants, etc.)?

They are very similar, and have a lot of the same stores, they're just all in one place in Bellevue and they're spread out in downtown Seattle. I've never noticed that the people are any more or less snobby at Bell-Square than in downtown, I've never felt under dressed at Bell-Square, and I'm not into dressing up. It's pretty crowded on weekend nights, but so are the shopping areas downtown. If you're just talking standard mall stores, there's nothing you can get downtown that you can't get in Bellevue or vice versa.

[Ira500]

I have to disagree with Ira, for once!

What???
I wasn't talking about all of downtown Seattle, because the OP was asking specifically about Bell Square I was thinking of it's rough equivalent in downtown Seattle, the area near the convention center, 6th-7th and Pike ish...taken as a whole, I disagree with me too

[JustCallMeTC]

As whole, there really is no comparison. Seattle is a lot funner place to be.

For example.

Seattle has The Pike Place Market. Bellevue has QFC

Need I really go on?

[W & C]

A little bit of topic but Bellevue has an extremely impressive skyline for a suburb. It's probably bigger than a few big cities in the Midwest or the South.

I heard somewhere a few years ago that it's the fastest growing skyline on the West coast, I don't know if there's a way to confirm that or not - but since I've been here for four years it's grown quite a bit; and my friend who was in South America last two years just came back recently and she says she can definitely notice the growth between now and then.

http://www.mtgfoundation.com/wp-cont...m_bellevue.jpg

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by W & C

A little bit of topic but Bellevue has an extremely impressive skyline for a suburb. It's probably bigger than a few big cities in the Midwest or the South.

I heard somewhere a few years ago that it's the fastest growing skyline on the West coast, I don't know if there's a way to confirm that or not - but since I've been here for four years it's grown quite a bit; and my friend who was in South America last two years just came back recently and she says she can definitely notice the growth between now and then.

http://www.mtgfoundation.com/wp-cont...m_bellevue.jpg

Thats an image of Seattle's truncated skyline, looking across the lake from Bellevue.... aside from that, yes Bellevue's skyline has changed dramatically in a few short years. When the whole skyline becomes visible while going northbound on I405, its pretty impressive.

[JustCallMeTC]

Honestly I have no idea why Bellevue's skyline would be considered "impressive" Both Seattle and Bellevue are devoid of architecture for the most part. There are some cool buildings, but they are the exceptions in my opinion.

The impressive things about either skyline are more about the natural backdrops, water & mountains, etc.

[seattlenextyear]

Yeah, you have to delineate what we're talking about. Most of the above comments are taking into consideration only the Bell-Square area of Bellevue and the Westake Center area of Seattle. If you're branching beyond that, the comments would be different.

I really like some other areas of Bellevue. Just not the dt mall.

[W & C]

Oops I did post the wrong skyline shot. For some reason, I don't see the Edit link now

[cafegirl21]

Thanks to EVERYONE for all the input on Bellevue versus Seattle. I'll be in both areas on vacation and LOVE shopping. It'll be fun to check out both areas. I'm also considering a job relocation and will have to see which area suits my needs. Again, thanks for all the posts.

[BellevueGuy]

Originally Posted by cafegirl21

Thanks to EVERYONE for all the input on Bellevue versus Seattle. I'll be in both areas on vacation and LOVE shopping. It'll be fun to check out both areas. I'm also considering a job relocation and will have to see which area suits my needs. Again, thanks for all the posts.

I see... have fun here! Unfortunately for a mall, Bellevue Square is as good as it gets here. Seattle metro doesn't have good shopping mall for some reason. Depending on your needs, feel free to check out newly opened Bravern. They have a number of exclusive stores like Herms, Jimmy Choo, LV, etc.