If there’s anything I find offputting about the central part of Kirkland, it’s that it all seems, well, overly sanitized. Granted, this is a “complaint” many a city want to have—Kirkland wears this on its sleeve proudly.
I’m hardly a thumb-downer of the eastside cities in general, despite feeling there’s far more to do in Seattle. That said, even though it might be smaller, I feel more comfortable in - for example - downtown Redmond. Downtown Redmond feels like it was designed to be a place to relax in and have some old hometown character, despite it getting boring after a while.
For visitors of the eastside, I recommend downtown Kirkland as a place to visit first and foremost, as the harbor and view across Lake Washington is really gorgeous indeed. And the surrounding shops are really colorful; and there are some underrated great restaurants and snack bars in this area.
On the flip side, I don’t get a sense of content or character in downtown Kirkland. I do get a really strong sense that people come here with family en masse because it’s a much “cleaner” and less crowded alternative to Seattle, which I have to say is true to some degree, albeit overcriticized.
And, I’m sorry, but those pedestrian traffic flags? Do pedestrians really have to bear the responsibility that they are crossing the road to alert other cars? Shouldn’t cars bear this responsibility? Unfortunately, this speaks volumes about Kirkland’s culture in a nutshell.
Juanita, on the other hand, is Kirkland’s secret sub-city that does have hidden gems and has the most character of all.
All in all, neither downtown Kirkland nor downtown Redmond are as stale as Bellevue Square. :)
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