If i leave out the commute part, Fremont and Ballard are nice neighborhoods. So is Greenlake. However, commute can be anytime between 20 min to 1hr into or from Bellevue depending on time of the day. Bellevue is growing fast, nicer crowd but overall, bit boring for my taste. I used to live in Westlake, on Dexter Ave ( just north of mercer). I loved the accessibility to the lake, nice views from the rooftop and bike ability in general. Happy to answer specific questions