The eastside is less obsessed with preserving an image of itself as a &quot;gritty&quot; place. Parts of the eastside (I&#x27;m looking at you, downtown Bellevue) are sort of obsessed with the opposite — shows of ostentatious wealth.<p>The Cascades have a lot of great hiking and are reason enough to live on the eastside :). If you don&#x27;t already, get an &quot;America the Beautiful&quot; pass (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nps.gov&#x2F;findapark&#x2F;passes.htm" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nps.gov&#x2F;findapark&#x2F;passes.htm</a>) which will get you into National Forest areas as well as National Parks (Rainier, Olympic National Park). And of course the state Discover pass gets you into a few areas (Tiger Mountain is not super wild, but very close).