Bellevue

Bellevue is the fifth largest city in Washington, with a population of more than 130,000. It is the high-tech and retail center of the Eastside, with more than 130,000 jobs and a skyline of gleaming high-rises. While business booms downtown, much of Bellevue retains a small-town feel, with thriving, woodsy neighborhoods and a vast network of green spaces and recreational facilities that keep people calling the place "a city in a park." The city's schools are consistently rated among the best in the country. Sales at local shopping complexes are always an attraction, but a strawberry festival and an arts and crafts fair each draw thousands each year. During the holiday season, the Garden d'Lights display at the Bellevue Botanical Garden attracts visitors from far and wide. Artists from around the country enter striking new works in the biennial Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition. The city spans more than 31 square miles between Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, and is a short drive from the Cascade Mountains. People can kayak within sight of downtown in the Mercer Slough Nature Park, a 320-acre wetland preserve.  There are almost 100 parks in Bellevue, with a broad range of amenities and features, including indoor pools, lakefront beaches, community centers, golf courses, skate plazas, nature trails, indoor tennis courts and a boat launch. The city also coordinates lessons for many sports from tennis to swimming to golf, and coordinates youth and adult leagues for several sports.