Bellevue versus Seattle (hair salon, theater, high school)

[cafegirl21]

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

[JustCallMeTC]

Bellevue = Hoydy Toydy
Seattle = Espresso Civic Chic Grunge

[grastus]

Bellevue is just boring as hell if you're young...it feels like the entire city is in bed by 9. Bellevue Square Mall itself is really nice but get ready to see snobby suburban Paris Hilton/Kim Kardashian wannabes every time you turn around. It's that kind of place, y'know?

I have to admit I'm incredibly biased because I grew up in inner Seattle before moving to the east side during high school, but still, the shopping in downtown Seattle and Capitol Hill make Bellevue feel like a soulless Dallas suburb.

[jenlion]

Actually, Belleue Square is only funny because it tries SO hard to be a fancy Dallas-area mall (think Galleria or Stonebriar, or Houston's northern burb Wood-something-or-other), and isn't!! And it sounds like the Bravern tried harder and overshot, but I haven't been and have no reason to go, so I don't know.

Yeah, there are a lot of young and pretty people there, but it's just not all that. It doesn't have an ice rink, for starters.

That place is just so weird. And yes, maybe a quarter of the people there give off a huge stuck-up vibe, and the building tries, but it's not too bad. I was there today for another, and I don't run screaming!

But if I was single or childless and choosing between downtown bellevue and downtown seattle, uh, easy call -- Seattle.

[seattlenextyear]

DT Bellevue= A big mall. If you like upscale stores and upscale chain restaurants (Pf Changs, Maggianos, etc), its fine. Lots of yuppies like to go on dates there on weekend nights. We went there last Friday night because my husband wanted to gawk at the new iMacs. We totally felt underdressed.

DT Seattle is more like a city, not a mall. So you'll actually have to go outside to get to stores. Restaurants are better, and more local. I guess in general, if your only goal is shopping, Bellevue is better because the stores are more condensed. If your goal is "being in a city and having fun", Seattle is better.

There's similarities too: Both have Nordstroms, Macys, Lush, Fireworks, and probably a bunch of other stuff I don't remember.

[texastrigirl]

The difference for me is summed up as indoor mall vs. city street shopping. The indoor mall concept works when it's raining! I tend to go to Bellevue Square only because it's a) closer to where I live and b) they have a J. Jill and that's where I like to shop. That being said, I don't enjoy going there. It's a bit overwhelming to me in size as I am not a big shopper and it is filled with stores I don't care about. Of all the shopping areas in Seattle, I actually prefer University Village for people watching, window shopping and fun variety of stores.

[BellevueGuy]

Much depend on your requirement, especially commute (!!) in this area. What exactly are you looking for? Affordabilty, commute, shopping, food, nightlife, job etc?

Don't believe the copy & paste stereotypes above where Seattle is a vibrant soulful hippie town vs Bellevue is a rich snobbish suburb.

[KikiMonster]

You know, it's personal preference. Personally, I like efficient shopping and for that reason, I preferred Bell Square. For me (suburban mom, but ex Manhattan-ite) I liked the fact I could scoop into the Mall, get what I needed efficiently, then grab a cup of coffee and feel somewhat as though I was in a somewhat sophisticated enclave where people sorta dress up.... By contrast, Seattle requires a bit more work--great boutiques, hair salons etc BUT you gotta hunt them down. Shopping downtown is nice but I find Bell Square to have more products and therefore, more efficient. And you do see all types in Seattle--grunge, homeless, business people etc. If I had the time, I enjoyed the people watching....

[Ira500]

Both downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue have good and bad points. Some of the actual stores are the same. Downtown Bellevue has "Old Bellevue" which is Main St of Bellevue west of Bellevue Square and has older buildings and nice little stores and decent bagels..Nearby are some hole in the wall ethnic eateries. Bellevue downtown park is right there as well, and is nice. Downtown Bellevue is clean and doesn't have nearly as many homeless people as downtown Seattle.
So Bellevue Guy is right. Downtown Seattle has big expensive stores and so does downtown Bellevue. Downtown Seattle has more cultural amenities like live theatre, but is also dirtier and has more homeless. Downtown Bellevue has changed a lot. It is now a big city in it's own right, but it has become like downtown Seattle. When things change, it's not always a good thing. Both cities now try to cater to wealthier folks. Downtown Seattle used to have a Woolworths. Downtown Bellevue used to have an outstanding, awesome espresso stand outside of Safeway. Safeway built a new building and has a Tully's inside. Neither downtown Seattle nor downtown Bellevue is especially soulful, and both try to cater to the rich.

[eskercurve]

I have to disagree with Ira, for once!

Downtown Seattle has more soul I think. There's the improv theater with the gum-wall, there's the Pike Place (which is history and all that wrapped up in one), there's some good French, Italian, Irish bars, Japanese, hoagie shops, and some dives to go to on weekends. 1st st. is amazing. I think downtown Bellevue is very plastic and it looks nice, and verily I like to go to the billiards place and the new bowling alley / arcade room, but both are pretty expensive so I go only rarely. The closest thing to reasonable there is the Blue C Sushi place next to the Cheesecake Factory. The other big thing is, deviate from the immediate downtown Bellevue area and you're right in there with businesses and strip malls and stuff like that.

Finally, there's very few places with ... attractive energy (sounds awfully like new age, sorry folks) ... downtown in Bellevue. There is no Zig Zag cafe equivalent that isn't overpriced, there is no Tsukushinbo sushi, there is no place in Bellevue that I would be crushed if it closed down.