It’s official. Bellevue is chichi.

No less an authority that USA Today used that label Monday for the city in a story describing that the opening of Starbucks’ first Evolution Fresh store in the nation will be here, not in Seattle.

The store will sell premium juices and vegan and veggie dishes and will be separate from the ubiquitous coffee shops that dot almost every corner in America. The Reporter has a story about the undertaking in today’s paper.

But, back to Chichi, which means “showily or affectedly elegant or trendy; pretentious.”

Wow. Little did I realize that our combination of great schools, numerous parks, clean streets and incredible diversity was so … pretentious.

Being tweaked is nothing new for Bellevue. We often get smug put-downs from people in Seattle for apparently not having panhandlers lining our downtown sidewalks and homeless people urinating in alleys. Of course, that could just be because Bellevue doesn’t have alleys.

I have nothing against Seattle. I grew up there and it was a fine city. I remember walking around the downtown, Belltown (it wasn’t called that then) and the U District any time day or night without being concerned. I’m not so sure that’s the case today.

I also remember a city that built the World’s Fair in the middle of town without endless meetings to debate, well – everything about it. The Space Needle went up, the U.S. Pavilion (now the science center) was inspiring architecturally and Seattle got a gorgeous fountain in the middle of it all.

I’m pretty sure that could never happen again. Maybe not even in Bellevue.

But it does seem overly smug to hear the Seattle putdowns about Bellevue when people here get good schools, city services and amenities that are not just for the rich, but for everyone.

Bellevue, in fact, is more diverse than Seattle. There are 80 or so languages spoken in our schools other than English. About 30 percent of the population is foreign-born. In fact, members of the large population from India who live here is asking the U.S. government to put that country’s next embassy in Bellevue, not Seattle.

And, despite what some think, not everyone lives in a mansion on the lake.

Schools in east Bellevue have a large percent of students who get free or reduced lunch. There are homes in Bellevue that are modest by any standard. And public housing does exist.

Nevertheless, voters here consistently approve school levy and bond issues. They know that all the schools in the district will get improved or rebuilt when their turn comes. Residents also appreciate that Bellevue allocates neighborhood improvement funds to every part of the city equally and on a rotating basis, letting residents decide what would be best for their neighborhoods. And not only are the parks here maintained to a high standard, but also plantings along streets and in medians, which are considered the equivalent of mini-parks.

So, if this makes us “affectedly elegant,” I’m all for it. I have nothing against Seattle. I just won’t pay $3.50 to go see it by driving across the 520 bridge.