What is your favorite suburb of your city?
 

For Chicago:

Leaving aside the town where I reside (Libertyville), my choice would be Oak Park, IL.

I’m guessing a lot of Chicago forumers would say Evanston (my number 2 choice), but Evanston is too ritzy, North Shore-y to me, and the skyline just seems generic.

Oak Park feels more grainy, has more charm to me, more comfortable and has the right amount of luxury without seeming snooty. Plus it’s building a lot of skyscrapers.

I would live there if I had to live in another suburb.

The only acceptable suburb to me in St. John's is Georgestown. It was the city's first planned suburb, built in the late 1800s. But it's practically downtown now, the city has grown so much since.

https://i.postimg.cc/kG90CrKX/1.png

For most people, Churchill Park is an acceptable suburb. It was built from 1945-50. It was the first example in what is now Canada (we were still a separate country when this was built) of many of the things today associated with suburbia. Today, it's most well-known for its corner windows.

http://i.imgur.com/jp582FA.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/AA6kZK1.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/DwmTW0E.jpg?1

Santa Monica probably, but that might not be considered a real suburb by many.
Same for Beverly Hills/West Hollywood.

I'd go with Pasadena.

For Chicago, Evanston. Oak Park, second. Kind of obvious choices here but I don't remember a lot of interesting burbs there.

For Montreal, I'd say Rosemere or Lorraine on the North Shore. Saint-Lambert on the South Shore.

Decatur is Atlanta's in my opinion, and most locals would probably agree. It's 6 miles east of Downtown, and actually predates Atlanta. With a lively Downtown full of indy bars, shops and restaurants and a subway station under the Courthouse Square, it's a very cool blend of small town meets big city. Some have dubbed it 'where Berkeley meets Mayberry,' in part due to being Emory adjacent and decidedly left of center.

For urban fabric in Vancouver, without a doubt New Westminster:

https://live.staticflickr.com/8196/2...871d4488_h.jpgNew Westminster Urban Heart by Ian, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/8097/2...cd545e6d_h.jpgSkytrain Through New Westminster by Ian, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/8484/2...d6022e4d_h.jpgNew Westminster Summer by Ian, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/8062/2...0077690e_h.jpgNew Westminster Vibe by Ian, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/8064/2...6b442950_h.jpgNew Westminster Summer Streets by Ian, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/8054/2...2c85ca03_h.jpgUrban Skytrain by Ian, on Flickr

For Skylines, definitely Burnaby's Metrotown Skyline:

https://live.staticflickr.com/4477/3...621c372b_k.jpgMetrotown Skyline by Ian, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/4469/3...63190e8c_h.jpgMetrotown Reaching by Ian, on Flickr

SCHAUMBURG!!!!!!

Its skyline is almost as good as Jacksonville's!

And it's very responsibly dense, just like Plano.

And they also have a Legoland Discovery Center.

I think Alpharetta could give Decatur a run for its money on an all around basis.

I think Brookline, MA is the best suburb in the country.

Since this entire area is pretty much burbs(Hampton Roads) I think my favorite burb would be Williamsburg.

Downtown area of Williamsburg:

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2721...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2728...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2708...7i13312!8i6656

Historic area:

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.2713...7i13312!8i6656

For Austin: San Marcos
For San Antonio: New Braunfels
For Columbia: Forest Acres
For Chicago: Park Ridge or Oak Park

I don't know about that. Get the Red Line out there, beef up Downtown and make it cohesive with Avalon and maybe we'll talk. ;)

There's really no comparison at this point in time, and Decatur has gorgeous historic bones that Alpharetta can't duplicate. They are doing a lot of things right out there, though.

It's not a suburb if it has a CTA station. but yeah Oak Park.

Oak Park | Eleven33 by Harry Carmichael, on Flickr

Oak Park Illinois by Harry Carmichael, on Flickr

Chicago | Blizzard 2011 by Harry Carmichael, on Flickr

Chicago | Albion Oak Park by Harry Carmichael, on Flickr

And how many tours are there in Evanston ?
Heurtley House by Harry Carmichael, on Flickr

For Houston, aside from any of the areas I've resided in or spent significant time in (especially League City), I'd say Bellaire.

Since that's an enclave and roughly a city neighborhood, I'm partial to The Woodlands. Not directly bordering the city in any way, I say Summerwood/Sheldon/CE King. PS, the place I hate the most is Pearland (for petty reasons).

For Galveston's tiny sphere of influence, I enjoy Kemah if that counts. If not, then I guess Texas City wins by default (I don't travel much on Galveston or Bolivar except the city).

For LA, my favorite is and likely always will be Carson, especially if Pomona is considered unique and not a suburb.

For the IE, excluding Pomona perhaps, I enjoy Ontario and Rialto.

For Houston, probably also the Woodlands. It's the really only suburb that feels like it's own city rather than a far flung bedroom community. Sugarland tries but fails. I like some of the smaller areas in an around the Clear Lake area and towards Galveston; e.g., Tiki Island.

Not a fan of Pearland either. It's Schaumburg with pick-up trucks and palm trees.

Pasadena, hands down... If we're considering a world famous city of 150,000 people a suburb

I like Pearland, I just don't like some people's vibes and attitudes.

LA has more than it’s fair share of beautiful suburbs, and many of them have their own vibe. I’m going with some not so famous ones, and some others that are well known.

Inland Empire- definitely Claremont, love The Village, and adjacent Claremont Colleges. It’s beautiful leafy green tree lined streets and walkable neighborhoods, good train service to downtown LA, and even 24 hour bus service to LA.

Inland Empire- Redlands similar to Claremont, just a bit far from LA. Beautiful historic homes, and wintertime scenery is quite awesome with a back drop of snow capped mountains, honorable mention, Upland CA.

LA County-Manhattan Beach, beautiful dense walkable city with clean beaches. Although it can get crowded, and touristy, but not like Santa Monica & Venice. It has a very different vibe altogether much more laid back. Beautiful upscale downtown with ocean and pier view.

LA County-San Marino, Arcadia, Pasadena, well basically all of the cities in the San Gabriel Valley along the 210 freeway corridor. Much of these cities have quaint downtowns, and beautiful leafy tree lined streets and look very similar to Pasadena.

Orange County-Laguna Beach probably the most beautiful beach in Southern California, nice walkable vibrant downtown full of Art Galleries next to the beach.

Orange County-Orange, specifically Old Town Orange and the historic walkable neighborhood surrounding it.

Honorable mention to Santa Monica, by far my favorite LA County beach town.

And I HATE Beverly Hills, talk about overhype and boredom. I wish Hollywood was a suburb, because I'd toss it into the hate pile too (It'd be a core city anyways just as BH kinda sorta is).

I liked Manhattan/ Laguna Beaches and Santa Monica.

Disregard

I live in a suburb so it would be the one that I'm in, in Branchburg NJ. Has almost a Alice in Wonderland vibe going on as its hilly, with different flora and trees. A lot of folks renovated their homes, so all the splashes of colors make every block quite unique. Its not like those suburbs where everything looks the same.

Its a mature suburb, with property taxes upwards of 12k a year. Houses that are in the range of 550k-1.2 mil in price, average lot size is about an acre to acre and a half. Folks tend to take care of their homes, with landscaping and no cars parked on the lawn. Its a civilized suburb. No crime, good schools. Our cops are overpaid, and have the latest high tech equipment thanks to taxes. The roads tend to be fixed. Our local shopping is a Wegmons and Shopright (overpriced). Our entertainment are a few parks. Sometimes pedestrian volume on some streets is 1-2 people, if your lucky, you might see 3-4 people. Low traffic, not many people outside. We do have one train station stop, the Raritan line, which goes to Newark Penn.

The negative are the property taxes, but its NJ, its expected.

Although homerism aside, I love Saddle River NJ. If there is one suburb in NJ thats super nice, its Saddle River... likewise with Edgewood NJ. Both are very picturesque, and 4x as expensive as where I reside.

Bergen County (NJ) has some nice suburbs, but prepare to pay! $$$

Redwood City, California.
Oak Park, Illinois but also the Berwyn, Cicero cluster on the west side.

Coral Gables is pretty good all around. It has its urban parts, it purely suburban parts, a university, its only about 4 miles from Downtown Miami, a couple of heavy rail transit stops (though Downtown Coral Gables doesn't have a metrorail stop, grrr).
South Miami is pretty nice too, could be better if someone could ever get something to work at the Sunset Place site.

evanston definitely has some of that element to it, especially over by the lakefront mansions (where homes are routinely in 7-figure land), but evanston is also home to a much wider diversity of people and incomes, and is much more densely populated and urban, than a more stereotypical north shore burb like winnetka.



Evanston:

white: 58.6%
black: 16.6%
latino: 11.5%
asian: 9.6%
other: 3.7%

median household income: $74,901

zillow housing value index: $338,200

pop. density: 9,583 ppsm

% SFH detached: 31.4%

# of el stops: 8

# of bus routes: 10




Winnetka:

white: 90.2%
black: 0.2%
latino: 2.9%
asian: 4.3%
other: 2.4%

median household income: $216,875

zillow housing value index: $1,165,100

pop. density: 3,262 ppsm

% SFH detached: 84.1%

# of el stops: 0

# bus routes: 2




i feel that writing off evanston as just another ritzy north shore burb is more than a bit disingenuous. it's FAR more real and regular and city-like than the burbs to the north of it.

and being home to one of the top 10 universities in the nation (Northwestern) also brings a youthful vibe and energy to evanston that you won't find anywhere to the north either.

For St Louis: University City. It checks all the boxes: charming, historic, vibrant, walkable, diverse, progressive, centrally-located, served by rail transit, adjacent to Washington University.

Yeah, Evanston has its moments, but I wouldn’t call it ritzy.

I really love Madison, NJ. It's as quaint as can be and the beautiful campus of Drew University is right in the center of town.

South Pasadena (my hometown):

1) You’re a 17 and 7-minute train ride away from Downtown and Old Town Pasadena, respectively. Once the Regional Connector is completed in a few years, it’ll be a one-seat ride to Broadway, the cultural amenities atop Bunker Hill, one of the city’s busiest intersections (7th and Figueroa), and Staples Center.

2) Close proximity to Dodger Stadium. The reason some fans leave early is not just to beat traffic, but also because they have work the next day and live far away. Once out of Chavez Ravine, you can be home in 10-15 minutes if you live in SP.

3) Easy access to some of the best, most authentic Cantonese cuisine on the planet outside HK/Guangdong.

4) Proximity to the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.

5) The town itself. A quintessential streetcar suburb that’s peaceful and quaint, yet close to cosmopolitan amenities. Everything is of a more human scale, the homes aren’t cookie-cutter, lots of trees, great schools, great public library, Pavilions is open until midnight every day of the week, etc. The list goes on. My only complaint is that the main commercial thoroughfares (Fair Oaks and Mission) could use more/better retail and dining options.

Although I hate (auto-oriented) suburbs, Philly has quite a few great ones! New Hope is probably my favorite, with Media, West Chester, Ardmore, Doylestown, and Yardley following close behind.

Probably Gilbert and Scottsdale.

They are just really nice, I would raise family in such places.

LA seems to be covered here quite well. I will also vote for Pasadena/South Pas and the South Bay beach cities of Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo.

For Cincinnati, my favorite suburb is Mariemont. The village was master planned in the early 20th century, and has a lot of unique and different housing typologies centered around a little village square with a movie theater, ice cream shop, historic hotel, and other shops and restaurants. It's pretty ritzy, but very comfortable and homey feeling. Much of the older part of the community is built in a tutor revival style, and there are big, tall trees throughout the neighborhood and lots of parks scattered around.

Mariemont

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1452...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1465...7i13312!8i6656

Rows and townhomes
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1468...7i13312!8i6656


https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1421...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1457...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1452...7i13312!8i6656

Mississauga: only because this is a skyscraper forum.

Fields turning into suburban plazas and vast tracts of homes ... turning into a few notable skyscrapers (the best twist towers - Marilyns, and a couple of other 200m underway).

This will never be a "city" of course but a pretty good lab for tower design. Toronto wants them moved downtown.

If Missie was in China, it would become Guangzou - lite. Nearly a million residents now I think.

Chicago: Evanston and Oak Park are obvious choices considering the sensibilities on this forum, but some other honorable mentions: Park Ridge, Geneva, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Wheaton... I'll even throw in Naperville, even though it is second only to Schaumburg as a lightening rod for Chicagoans' disdain for the burbs.

Park Ridge: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0109...7i13312!8i6656
Geneva: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8878...7i16384!8i8192
Highland Park: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.1862...7i16384!8i8192
Lake Forest: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2519...7i16384!8i8192
Wheaton: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8649...7i16384!8i8192
Naperville: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7724...7i16384!8i8192

Any place that has some downtown density+METRA station is usually a sure bet for at least a couple good restaurants and some interesting pre-war architecture.

And actually as I was editing to add google maps, I remembered a dark horse: Elgin, IL. This was a pretty big outpost in the 19th/early 20th century (some of you may know Elgin Watch Company). It's a little rundown these days but it has the bones of a good town: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0372...7i16384!8i8192

Evanston

La Grange as a non-Evanston/OP option

Love Orange. Had a friend that used to live near the Circle and always enjoyed visiting.

For Phoenix, on this forum, Tempe is the obvious choice. Other than the canals in Scottsdale, Tempe Town Lake is the only water-side development you're going to get in Phoenix. Tempe definitely keeps pace with and at times seems like it outpaces Phoenix for urban development. It outdoes Phoenix from a transportation perspective, with light rail and an under construction street car supplemented by a nice free neighborhood circulator system and excellent bike network. And then if you feel like it, south Tempe is very suburban, affluent and quiet with some of the best schools in the state. Plus I kind of like that it's land-locked, so they are motivated to grow up, as opposed to most other Phoenix suburbs that have ensured they can grow out into the desert ad infinitum.

This is an excellent run down. I agree completely with everything you said

Just go to Gus's BBQ everyday. Problem solved! :haha:

that me

older aerial of the west end of the main commercial district, the main (or at least densest) apartment districts (they are partially cut off but is all university city and not st. louis city, i don't think there is any st. louis city in this view), and the sort of mini civic/religious district without large trees but is generally very similar today:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0b/25...3f025f5c6e.jpg pinterest.com

This is a great snapshot. The more time I spend touring these Metra burbs the more impressed I am with what this region has.

I'm especially kind of interested in these old Fox River towns like Elgin, Aurora, St Charles, etc. I have yet to see them in person but they seem to have a lot of "urban bones" worth exploring.

My only beef with Aurora and Naperville's commercial cores is that they are a bit of a hike from their respective Metra Stations. If only their stations could've been just adjacent to their downtowns, as is the case with most of the other commuter burbs, the synergy would be that much better.

here's a post i made awhile ago showing all of the pre-war railroad town centers in chicagoland:

maplewood, mo would be another favorite of mine, and another pre-war suburb (rail serviced) ive lived in:

https://explorestlouis.com/wp-conten...nchesterRd.jpg
explorestlouis.com

https://images1.apartments.com/i2/Rm...chester-rd.jpg
apartments.com

In Canada, Westmount is the best "suburb" hands down - it's about as suburban as Brookline.

Newport and Huntington have their strengths as well. I don't go there often, but they're fun.


As no one said Long Beach? Does it count?

I liked Tempe, at least near the train station. Cool place.

I grew up in St. Charles so I'm very familiar with them all. Elgin is by far the most interesting as far as "urban bones" go, IMO; between the downtown area and the Victorian style mansions. Geneva is what St. Charles aspires to be--a good amount of walkability for a town its size and very well maintained. It's definitely worth a day trip if you're after some old fashioned quaintness. It reminds me a bit of Chicago's Lincoln Square spread out over an entire town. St. Charles is actually doing some work to build more downtown density beyond the strip on Main Street. Batavia is another--some cool limestone buildings downtown (although pretty small sample size) and 19th century SFHs.

Wow this is really cool! I've actually tried to find a comprehensive list like this before when I've been bored and looking to see a new suburb (worth seeing) that I'd never been to before. I'll be checking back this fall when I'm in the mood to kill an afternoon exploring!

I love Long Beach, lived there for many years, and would live again. I just don’t consider it a suburb.

Hmm. In KC nothing really stands out.

Given that Oak Park and Evanston both directly border Chicago and are accessible via CTA, I'll go a bit further out and say Elmhurst. Great walkable downtown core, a good number of historic buildings, and new construction galore due to the Metra station smack dab in the center of town.

Aaron (Glowrock)

yeah, evanston and oak park's status as "suburbs" is really only a quirk of history.

both municipalities rejected efforts by chicago to annex them in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. in fact, in one of the evanston referendums, the city's annexation bid lost by only 7 votes. had just 4 of those people voted the other way, we wouldn't be talking about "evanston the suburb", we'd be talking about "evanston the city neighborhood".

evanston and oak park are definitely a sort of middle ground in so many ways.