View of Hyatt Lake Regency/Southport dock

(This post has NOTHING to do with Eastern Washington (the other side of the Cascade Mountains) but only has to do with the East and West of Lake Washington.)

NO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WAS USED IN THIS POST

An age old debate here in the Pacific Northwest is the battle between the eastern half of Lake Washington or the Western half. On the west, you have stunning views of the Puget Sound, culture, art, experiences for days, and feels like the true soul of Washington. The vibes are immaculate and on a sunny day, she gleams like the Emerald City that she is.

On the eastern side of Lake Washington, we have collectively “The Eastside”. The western half is just “Seattle” because from the south end (Southport, Renton) all the way up the west are the many Burroughs of Seattle (Rainier Valley up to Shoreline) but starting from Southport/Renton Landing area up the right side of the lake toward Bellevue is “The Eastside” because each individual town likes to differentiate themselves-the other half just claims “Seattle”.

The west vs east debate in Seattle area insiders runs deep. Original Seattle natives claim their side is best and have deep pride for their half, regardless of what state it is in. The inhabitants truly care about the nature of the city and have servant’s hearts that break for the current conditions of Downtown. Their patronage runs deep and nothing will take that from Seattle, the true Soul of Washington.

The Seattle Burroughs all have their own unique feel as well. Ballard, Lake City, Columbia City, Capitol Hill, The International District, SODO, The U-District, Alki, Leschi, Seward Park, Fremont, Kerry Park, South Lake Union, and Madison Park. Each space has such a different feel. Heritage is celebrated and everyone cares about each other. Seattle has a lot of science and healthcare innovation, education, arts, sports, and community involvement. To compare the two, the wealth in Seattle feels extra old money. Kurt Cobain’s bench is still in Madison Park (very old money). Did I miss any Seattle hubs?

On the Eastside, we have a much different vibe. The culture sort of exists, but there is much more of a corporate, fully business-focused feel. Both halves of the Lake have deep, deep wealth, but some would say Bellevue is extra bougie (thanks, Bill and Jeff!). The downtown streets do not have the vagrancy that downtown Seattle has. The police and security presence is very strong (they have funding). Bellevue Square serves as a community hub for more than just shopping; it has safety that other area malls cannot compare with-the owner has great pride in keeping it a safe space that is always open during inclement weather with an excellent HVAC system to combat airborne illnesses.

Beyond Bellevue, The Eastside expands into Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Newcastle, Woodinville and sort of Bothell. Sammamish is kind of the Eastside, but they have their own lake. Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond are home to the world’s greatest technology and birth of The Internet (thanks again, Bill). It has a very Silicon Valley feel, but instead of surfers, you have hikers. Everyone makes well into the six figure income bracket and a million dollars gets you a middle level condo without a lake view, but most likely is within walking distance. The Eastside is the BRAIN of Washington State. Seattle is the Soul.

I should also state that the city of Bellevue itself has a hierarchy-the little lakefront hubs are called Medina (Bill Gates), Clyde Hill, Hunt’s Point (formerly Jeff Bezos), and Yarrow Point. They are all little peninsula’s of the lake with homes built on them-I should clarify-MASSIVE MANSIONS on them.

Newcastle/Renton houses the Seattle Seahawks and Boeing along the shores of Lake Washington on the way north to Bellevue. Bellevue has many towers, not nearly as many as Seattle, but is rapidly expanding due to Amazon. In the downtown core is Microsoft, Amazon, Pokemon, Salesforce, Concur, T-Mobile, Samsung, Nokia (Ericsson), among others I may have forgotten. We move further to the east and in Redmond, even more of Microsoft-the full HQ-and Amazon exist. There is Nintendo, SpaceX, and a ton of aerospace companies. Redmond is land of the satellites and lasers. In Kirkland, we have Electronic Arts, Google, Tableau, Bluetooth, and formerly home to the OG Kirkland Signature; Costco which moved to Issaquah. Kirkland has a lot of video game development and wireless connectivity companies.

When you visit the Pacific Northwest, most people think they can visit a lot of these places in one swoop like they are all together which is not correct. If you want a walking trip, stay in the heart of downtown like the Westin or something (thats where the president used to stay), the Four Seasons or Fairmont Olympic (formerly the Four Seasons where the Backstreet Boys stayed) or on the water, like The Edgewater (where the Beatles stayed). If you want great proximity to both the east and west, stay at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington because you are ON the end of the lake and can take a car up to anywhere in Seattle OR go visit Microsoft or Nintendo or Bellevue. It’s also a fantastic hotel for any Seahawks related event. Traffic blows either way. 405 is DEATH but you can see the VMAC.

If you don’t want to spend your entire budget on the room, simply use a map and put in the locations you want to see the most and find a hotel nearby with the cost of your liking. Plan out the spots you want to see on the map, too, to get a gauge of how much traveling you will need once here. The airport is NOT close by; don’t choose an airport hotel.

Honorable mention, Mercer Island. Mercer is the shape of a foot and is housed dead center of the lake. They are home to a lot of very large waterfront homes and during the summer, you see Yacht Parties gather up across at Seward Park. During Seafair, there is no spot on this island that cannot see the Blue Angels. The i90 Floating Bridge goes through Mercer Island.

At the end of it all, Seattle thinks they are better than Bellevue and Bellevue thinks they are better than everyone else. Together, we make up GLAMNORTHWEST :)

If you haven’t already checked out GLAMNORTHWEST on Amazon….