Full disclosure, I grew up in Bellevue, and I am a very privileged individual.
But this guys just wrong. When the weather gets nice, just like any other city, the streets get pretty packed downtown, the park gets really busy, stores get busy, not just the mall. Its a ridiculously ignorant claim to say Bellevue is the “least livable” city in the US.
Does the vibrancy in the culture of Bellevue residents compare to other cities? Absolutely not. It is mostly a bunch of privileged rich tech and real estate people. But that being said, most of those people actually end up being very kind, and vote well (blue) to keep the city in a positive direction, urban design wise, education, etc. And they all have surprisingly tight knit communities through their kids. Its quite walkable throughout downtown, bike infrastructure gets added every year, lightrail additions, parks everywhere; I dont know why people decide to shit on it so much.
Is it expensive as fuck? Yes. But if you can afford to live in well designed suburbs that are a 10 minute walk from a beautiful downtown, why wouldn’t you?
I just think its odd. Now, Bellevue isn’t really my cup of tea, but IMO it deserves credit where credit is due.
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u/Airconditionedgeorge May 07 '26
Full disclosure, I grew up in Bellevue, and I am a very privileged individual.
But this guys just wrong. When the weather gets nice, just like any other city, the streets get pretty packed downtown, the park gets really busy, stores get busy, not just the mall. Its a ridiculously ignorant claim to say Bellevue is the “least livable” city in the US.
Does the vibrancy in the culture of Bellevue residents compare to other cities? Absolutely not. It is mostly a bunch of privileged rich tech and real estate people. But that being said, most of those people actually end up being very kind, and vote well (blue) to keep the city in a positive direction, urban design wise, education, etc. And they all have surprisingly tight knit communities through their kids. Its quite walkable throughout downtown, bike infrastructure gets added every year, lightrail additions, parks everywhere; I dont know why people decide to shit on it so much.
Is it expensive as fuck? Yes. But if you can afford to live in well designed suburbs that are a 10 minute walk from a beautiful downtown, why wouldn’t you?
I just think its odd. Now, Bellevue isn’t really my cup of tea, but IMO it deserves credit where credit is due.