Why did/do Seattle people love to BASH the East Side? (Bellevue: movies, schools)

[robertpolyglot]

For anyone who has lived in Seattle, there is a constant bashing of the East Side. First and foremost, the bridge issue comes into play. Ok, that's valid. But then it extends into comments about the people - more materialistic, less interesting, less worldly. I've only lived on the East Side. Why? I like newer housing stock. I don't like bungalows in Wallingford or Ravenna. Have I met interesting people on the East Side? Many. They even travel, speak other languages, work in cutting edge tech, and some are even liberal. Some UW faculty and administrators live across the lake.

So, what's the bad rap about? There are Seattleites who brag how infrequently they visit the East Side.

[Seacove]

I don't know anyone that bashes the Eastside. People work, live and commute back and forth every day, it's like one big city. Are you trying to find controversy where there isn't any?

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by Seacove

I don't know anyone that bashes the Eastside. People work, live and commute back and forth every day, it's like one big city. Are you trying to find controversy where there isn't any?

NO. Not trying to find controversy. There are in-town types who don't like it. Including the now-grown children of my parents' friends who were raised in SW Seattle.

[skidamarink]

I don't bash the Eastside, I just have no interest in working or living out there. It's standard suburbia, which can be found in most of America, as far as I'm concerned. Nothing special about it. I didn't move to Seattle for that. I came here for the culture, activities, and population density of a big city (I'm from a suburb in the Midwest that does very much mirror Bellevue). There's no reason to live on the Eastside unless you have a family, IMO. Yawn and move on.

[Seacove]

So you don't live here, but know people who prefer downtown Seattle and that equals "constant bashing"? Okay. The area is too small for that to be much of a thing considering people drive back and forth, live work, eat and shop on both sides every day.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by Seacove

So you don't live here, but know people who prefer downtown Seattle and that equals "constant bashing"? Okay. The area is too small for that to be much of a thing considering people drive back and forth, live work, eat and shop on both sides every day.

I could drive around the East Side with my eyes closed. I have called it home. Why the chip? I'm just looking for input. One poster said it's boring and more suitable for families. I chose to live there as a single and got quite a bit of push-back. One person who lived on Queen Anne said he didn't live in Bellevue, our place of work, because of "too many breeders." That day, I learned a new word.

[skidamarink]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

I could drive around the East Side with my eyes closed. I have called it home. Why the chip? I'm just looking for input. One poster said it's boring and more suitable for families. I chose to live there as a single and got quite a bit of push-back. One person who lived on Queen Anne said he didn't live in Bellevue, our place of work because of "too many breeders." That day, I learned a new word.

So that's bashing? I simply stated that I personally don't find that appealing. But clearly, many people do. To each his own. I'm sure many people in the Eastside have reasons for not liking Seattle. So what?

[robertpolyglot]

Does this need to be so namby-pamby and defensive? Discuss away.

If you'd like to live there in a newer dwelling on a lot full of hemlock, say so.
If it's conditioned by your place of employment, say so.
If you're indifferent, say so.
If you think it's "uncool," say so.

Good God.

[Ira500]

It does go both ways, and it's primarily based on ignorance. I've heard folks from the eastside talk about Seattle as if they were likely to get mugged as soon as they crossed into the city limits, about how dirty it was, about how terrible the schools were, about how the city is entirely populated by freaks( well, that one might be true.
And I've heard people talk about the eastside as if every single person living there was shallow and materialistic. You hear a lot of that kind of stuff in City-Data threads. Or people from both the eastside and north Seattle advising that the south end is like one of those Mad Max movies, that it's out of control violence and crime, that gangs patrol the streets just randomly taking shots at people, that you're likely to get hit by a stray bullet just by wearing the wrong color. Opinions. Everybody's got one. And most of them are based on absolutely nothing.

[angelenogirl]

I have a friend who lives in Seattle. When I said I was moving there he told me that if I move to Bellevue he won't speak to me. He was only half-kidding. I have noticed that some people on one side don't seem to care for the other - which makes sense, given that people tend to prefer their own communities! People are always going to be territorial, and some folks just look for ways to feel superior.

In Los Angeles, people actually say, "I don't go east of the 405, or north of the 10." I mean, they say that with a straight face. They also wear t-shirts that say, "I won't date 818." (818 is an area code in the San Fernando Valley - another place known for family communities...and porn, oddly enough, but I digress.)

I didn't like the Eastside (not bashing) because it felt very much like California to me - lots of little strip malls and chain restaurants, etc. Some people LOVE that, and I get it - it's convenient and sometimes Cheesecake Factory is plain awesome. But I loved Seattle proper simply because I like old things, and not in some "cool" ironic way. Seattle seems to bring together the best of everything I love about the east and west coasts. And it's bizarre in the very best way to see all those trees and all that water in a city center. Perhaps it's just novel for now, but I love it.