WINNER
Top 100 rank: 4Population: 124,000 Unemployment: 5.8% Compare Bellevue to Top 10 Best Places If forested cityscapes are your thing, this is your kind of place. Bellevue's compact downtown bristles with new skyscrapers that seem to hover above Lake Washington -- and when the clouds part, mountain views loom.
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Real estate isn't a bargain, but the town's jobless rate is more than two points below that of the Seattle metro area, thanks to a recent influx of jobs from such employers as Microsoft (which has moved 6,500 positions here), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Expedia. In fact, Bellevue has more jobs than it does residents. And the population is diverse: Nearly a quarter of residents are Asian, and nearly a third are foreign born. The town's high schools consistently land at the top of state rankings. There's also an embarrassment of arts and entertainment, including a philharmonic orchestra, fine arts museum, botanical garden, youth theater, annual jazz festival, and 74 (!) parks. --Jessica Levine Is Bellevue a great town, or what?
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