Situated on the eastern side of Lake Washington, Bellevue is popular with visitors and new arrivals alike, thanks to its many waterfront parks and easy access to the Cascade Mountains. Washington’s three national parks (Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades) are each within day-trip range.
Natural beauty is only part of the appeal. Bellevue also has a strong economy, and Amazon traces its roots to a garage here, where Jeff Bezos founded the company in 1994.
Bellevue is about 10 miles (16km) east of Seattle. Residents can easily reach the wider Seattle job market and still come home to the calmer, greener pace the Eastside is known for.
Cost of living in Bellevue
The cost of living in Bellevue is undeniably high, well above the national average. Whether new arrivals opt to rent or purchase a property, accommodation costs are steep. Fortunately, most newcomers moving to the city will have high-paying tech industry jobs that can usually cover these costs.
Groceries and transport are well above the national average, although utilities are closer to the typical US level. Bellevue has plenty of farmers’ markets where you can pick up fresh local produce and meet a few neighbours while you’re at it. Healthcare, like most things here, is pricier than the national norm; the quality on offer is high, which is some consolation.
Getting around in Bellevue
For most residents, getting around in Bellevue mostly means driving, and the typical household here owns two cars.
Bellevue’s public transport is far better than it used to be. Sound Transit’s 2 Line light rail connects Bellevue with Redmond to the east. Trains began crossing Lake Washington in 2026, so there is now a direct rail link to Seattle as well. The downtown section even includes a tunnel beneath the city centre.
Closer to the ground, a free, on-demand electric shuttle called BellHop loops around the downtown core, handy for that first or last mile to a transit stop. You hail it through the Circuit app, much like a ride-share.
The city is adding protected bicycle lanes and shared-use paths through its urban core. For the energetic, they make a cheap and healthy way to skip the traffic altogether.
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Healthcare in Bellevue
As is the case in most of the USA, the quality of healthcare in Bellevue is outstanding. Hospitals in the city offer groundbreaking cancer treatments and efficient urgent care. Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, founded in 1960, has speciality clinics for heart and vascular care, cancer treatment, orthopaedics, and mental health. It is also the only Level III trauma centre in eastern Puget Sound. In 2024, it joined MultiCare, one of Washington’s largest health systems.
UW Medicine has several speciality clinics here as well; these handle everything from diagnostic care to outpatient surgery. Kaiser Permanente also operates a medical centre in Bellevue, so newcomers have plenty of choice.
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Schools in Bellevue
The Bellevue School District is rated among the top public school districts in Washington. Bellevue has more than two dozen public schools, so parents have plenty of choice. The district is particularly known for its strong language-immersion programmes; it offers Spanish and Mandarin programmes, among others.
Parents who want to enrol their children in schools that deliver different pedagogical approaches will be delighted to find that the school district has a healthy variety of options. International School and Bellevue Big Picture School are among the best of these. Big Picture School offers project-based learning, while International School allows its students to specialise in a specific subject area.
As Bellevue is situated on indigenous land, the school district offers Native American students specialised education through its Native American Education Programme. The district also offers a special education programme at no cost to parents.
For those looking for higher education options, Bellevue College and the University of Washington are fantastic options.
Education and Schools in Seattle
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Weather in Bellevue
The weather in Bellevue is regulated by the city’s proximity to Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Although the climate in Bellevue is generally mild, rainfall is common throughout the year.
Summers are the driest stretch of the year, and they’re pleasantly warm; average high temperatures sit in the mid-to-upper 70s°F (around 25°C) and can reach 80°F (27°C) on the hottest days. The rain here falls across many days of the year but rarely in great quantities, and locals will carry a hood rather than an umbrella. July and August flip the script and bring the region long, bright, dry days.
Temperatures rarely drop below freezing, and snowfall is equally infrequent. Average winter lows typically reach a chilly 37°F (3°C).
Working in Bellevue
The job market in Bellevue is thriving, and salaries are often high. Working in Bellevue used to mean a commute into Seattle for many newcomers, often in the professional, scientific, technical, and healthcare fields. More and more of that work now sits on the Eastside itself. For a qualified professional, the depth of the local labour market is hard to beat.
Bellevue is home to the headquarters of Fortune 500 firms T-Mobile and PACCAR. Amazon has poured back into the city as well; it was born here, and it is moving thousands of corporate jobs across the water in a bid to reach its target of 25,000 jobs on the Eastside. Microsoft is next door in Redmond, and Boeing has a large presence in Puget Sound.
One more draw for high earners: Washington levies no personal income tax. A state capital gains tax applies to large investment gains, so it pays to plan, but salaried income itself goes untaxed at the state level.
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Accommodation in Bellevue
Most people in Bellevue commute by car, and the traffic can be brutal. As such, newcomers would do well to find a home close to their workplace and children’s schools. This may be particularly challenging for those on a budget, as property prices in Bellevue continue to skyrocket.
That said, newcomers can find the perfect place to call home in Bellevue if they work with a real estate agent and exercise some patience. Bellevue’s striking natural beauty is well known, so wherever newcomers choose as their base in the city, there will always be a park or a body of water nearby.
Located alongside the Microsoft campus, Bridle Trails is aptly named after the Bridle Trails State Park and has some of the most spacious homes in Bellevue. Properties in this neighbourhood are pricey, but most homeowners find the quality of life well worth the price. Other family-friendly neighbourhoods in Bellevue include Phantom Lake, Wilburton, and Newport Shore.
Young and single professionals will love neighbourhoods such as West Bellevue and Eastgate that have quick access to Downtown Bellevue and Seattle. West Bellevue offers a range of accommodation options, from affordable studio apartments and condos to detached single-family homes with waterfront views.
Accommodation in Seattle
Areas and Suburbs in Seattle
Lifestyle in Bellevue
Adventurists and nature lovers will enjoy the lifestyle in Bellevue. Known as the ‘city in a park’, Bellevue is home to more than 100 parks and three small lakes, in addition to Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish.
Some of the most popular activities to do in Bellevue include hiking, swimming, kayaking, and backcountry skiing. The Bellevue Botanical Garden is also a tourist attraction, and entry is free.
The culinary scene in Bellevue represents the city’s diverse population. Much of the city’s fare is Chinese, alongside strong Italian and Mexican showings and a sizeable East and South Asian offering that speaks to Bellevue’s large international community.
Craft beer and wine tasting are also favourite pastimes in Bellevue. Although Seattle offers much more in terms of nightlife, Bellevue’s nightclubs and bars still hold their own.
Each summer, the city’s long-running arts fair fills downtown with the work of hundreds of makers. The tradition stretches back decades and is one of the region’s biggest craft showcases. For those who prefer to wander, a self-guided public art walk takes in more than 120 works dotted across Downtown Bellevue.
Bellevue is consistently rated among the safest large cities in the country and near the top of national quality-of-life rankings, which helps explain its enduring appeal to families and relocating professionals. Overall, newcomers moving to Bellevue will enjoy an excellent quality of life in a booming commercial city that allows its residents to build strong community ties.