Bellevue, WA, pronounced bell-vue, meaning beautiful view in French. Sounds like a nice place to live, maybe I should move there one day! This is how I came to know of this place…
I watched the new Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movie over the weekend and in the movie they play an Irish song during some of the scenes and also during the end credits. This song sounded familiar to me. I lived in Dublin for quite a few years when I was young so Irish songs and especially those about Dublin always catch my attention. I’ve always liked the quirky Irish accent and also the equally quirky way Irish songs play out.
Rocky Road to Dublin - The Dubliners
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I started to think about what it would be like to move back there. The Irish have this certain charm that makes them a joy to be around. A couple of memories come to mind. One of the local workers that my dad’s office employed was a Chinese guy with a Irish wife. They have two kids who are about my age, their son was particularly interesting and I remember we filmed him during one of our trips together and he just kept on repeating, half singing in fact, something totally random and grammatically incorrect and completely enjoying being filmed doing so. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the DV and I’ve forgotten what he was singing but it’s funny just thinking about the idea of watching the clip! I also remember I was given, or was it my brother, a wooden set of Dominoes. I remember they were handmade by an Irish guy who lived a relaxing life in the countryside with his Taiwanese wife. Oh, there’s also this Taiwanese pastor that was really nice to me and my brother. I wonder how these people now? Maybe I can try get contact info from my Dad. A visit back to Ireland sure would be interesting.
Ireland wasn’t a rich country when we were there but it has since turned into a high tech manufacturing center of Europe of sorts. GDP has more or less sky rocketed. Sure looks like somewhere where I can find a job and also enjoy life! Plus there are plenty of great golf courses to be played!
But there still aren’t many Asian people in Ireland and north America is still the place to be for technology based work. So anyway, since I’ve started looking, I might as well spend a bit of my lunch break at work to look other places up. So I go on yahoo and there’s a link to the 10 best places to live in the US on their homepage.
10 Best Place to Live in America
Minnesota is just too cold. Columbia/Ellicott doesn’t seem bad. And having been to Newton, which is just a short ride on the T to Boston, I can say it’s also a really nice place. But 4th on the list Bellevue, on the west coast, seems somehow the more appealing to me.
Lots of tech firms are based there, so shouldn’t be a problem finding a job and just half a hour’s drive from Seattle means even finding a job in Seattle isn’t totally out of the question. A quick search about the place says that about 15 to 20% of the population is Asian, a healthy but not overwhelming percentage and the place is getting more diverse. Lots to do plus loads and loads of parks! Oh, and the place just happens to be the sister city of Hualien in Taiwan and they were affiliated in 1984, the year I was born. Coincidence? Or maybe someone is telling me I should move there! Sure sounds like a nice place to live!
Official City of Bellevue Website
July 13th, 2010 | Tags: about me, audio | Category: Diary, Ramble | Leave a comment
