Born here, live elsehwere

I was born and raised in Eastgate, attended Bellevue public schools K-12, and have fond memories walking the trails through Cougar Mountain throughout my youth. My parents moved to Bellevue in the late 80s and could afford a modest, mid-century house on a Boeing Engineer's salary supporting a family of 4. Their investment in housing in Bellevue was extremely profitable and they likely would have been strong voices against development of middle house. After college, I moved back to the eastside and worked for a nonprofit. Rents quickly started to rise dramatically in the mid-2010s and I've since moved to a more affordable King County community. I still work in Bellevue, but couldn't afford even to rent here, let alone buy. What's most frustrating is not just that housing is out of reach, but that Bellevue has had such lacking investment in public transit that my best option to commute is a 70 minute bus ride that would take only 20-30 minutes in a car. I doubt this housing will ever be accessible to me, but I hope others can enjoy the community I grew up in.