Ashmita Gulati

City of Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue is the fifth largest city in Washington, with a population of more than 150,000. It is the high-tech and retail center of the Eastside, with more than 150,000 jobs around the city and a skyline of gleaming high-rises. You can learn a lot about the city from news releases, the It's Your City newsletter and Bellevue Television. 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, and arts and crafts fairs one weekend in July 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 annual Bellwether arts fair. 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.