Metros With The Nicest Collection of Suburbs 2023 (food, living, cost)
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I'm not trying to pick on this in any way, because the Main Line certainly is the most renowned and prestigious area of the Philly 'burbs.
It's just a shame that the ML reputation overshadows the plethora of great communities across the Philly area (many of which are very similar to the Main Line in form/aesthetic, just not as famously wealthy).
The streetview of Jenkintown in particular is very nice. The greenery and variety in homes is a standout for me, always.
For sure--any area that has architectural character and some nice greenery is going to be a winner in my book.
There's one town in the Philly area that has long stood out to me for having lovely housing stock, but is unbelievably cheap (only about $260K median home price), because its school system isn't the most highly-regarded, and that's Lansdowne, PA. If someone doesn't plan on having any children, wants to live in East Coast suburbia, and still in a very safe locale--Lansdowne would be a gold mine for them.
Just wanted to give an example of a suburb that can still be very pleasant and livable, and not break the bank, which unfortunately is far from the case usually for the "nicest" suburbs.
For sure--any area that has architectural character and some nice greenery is going to be a winner in my book.
There's one town in the Philly area that has long stood out to me for having lovely housing stock, but is unbelievably cheap (only about $260K median home price), because its school system isn't the most highly-regarded, and that's Lansdowne, PA. If someone doesn't plan on having any children, wants to live in East Coast suburbia, and still in a very safe locale--Lansdowne would be a gold mine for them.
Just wanted to give an example of a suburb that can still be very pleasant and livable, and not break the bank, which unfortunately is far from the case usually for the "nicest" suburbs.
Looks like a great neighborhood, especially given cost of living. Looks like a nice, functional town core/main street as well, with some opportunity for further expansion or revitalization.
It reminds me a bit of my former town, Reading. I suppose places like Wakefield and Melrose, too. Being that you live in MA now, I don't know if you've ever spent any time there, but I always recommend it to folks considering suburbs but aren't comfortable paying the premiums in some of the higher end towns. Unfortunately, like most others, Reading has seen an astronomical rise in COL since the last recession. But, it's still a more viable option for some. And I personally find it a much more appealing option than similarly positioned towns like Burlington, at least as far as neighborhood aesthetics.
Looks like a great neighborhood, especially given cost of living. Looks like a nice, functional town core/main street as well, with some opportunity for further expansion or revitalization.
It reminds me a bit of my former town, Reading. I suppose places like Wakefield and Melrose, too. Being that you live in MA now, I don't know if you've ever spent any time there, but I always recommend it to folks considering suburbs but aren't comfortable paying the premiums in some of the higher end towns. Unfortunately, like most others, Reading has seen an astronomical rise in COL since the last recession. But, it's still a more viable option for some. And I personally find it a much more appealing option than similarly positioned towns like Burlington, at least as far as neighborhood aesthetics.
Love Reading, Wakefield and Melrose; very charming. We absolutely did have Melrose on our list when looking around the Boston area in the mid-2010s for a house, but even then, it was out of reach unfortunately.
Still, it comes as no surprise why these communities have the high demand that they do. It's a cliche, but they truly don't build 'em like that anymore.
Not on the list, but I found Clevelands inner ring suburbs to be hugely underrated and fantastically walkable/transit oriented. In fact, places like Lakewood, Shaker Heights, and Cleveland Heights are among the few suburbs I've been to where I've noticed a huge number of kids walking and biking to and from school which is an indicator of a healthy quality of life for all ages. Shaker Heights and Shaker Square are basically model suburbs with good transit/rail connections to downtown with schools within an easy 10 minute walk of neighborhoods and a well connected network of parks and greenways accessible to most homes by foot.
Absolutely, Cleveland should be on this list. I've long believed Cleveland and Philly have among the nicest suburban networks of all cities, with Cleveland running with the Big Boys...
And while the Cleveland Hts-Shaker-Lakewood triad are absolutely quality close-in, transit-friendly, walkable, old-character suburbs, the high quality of Clevleand's suburbs extends outward, as well, and the diversity of quality is strong. Much of this is due to the dramatic natural setting of Greater Cleveland, with the obvious quality Lake Erie shore living, esp west of downtown. But then forests, gorges and bluffs to the east, and south of the city which add to the drama of suburban living in the CLE. East, you have the beautiful Eastern suburbs into the Chagrin Valley. Then there are New England-y burbs to the East such as Gates Mills, Chagrin Falls and Hudson-- in-between burbs like Huntin Valley and Moreland Hills are the foo-foo, massive-mansion, old-money towns. The diversity, quality and diverse architecture, different attractive themes, is rather stunning for a city of overall moderate size (among major metros).
Absolutely, Cleveland should be on this list. I've long believed Cleveland and Philly have among the nicest suburban networks of all cities, with Cleveland running with the Big Boys...
And while the Cleveland Hts-Shaker-Lakewood triad are absolutely quality close-in, transit-friendly, walkable, old-character suburbs, the high quality of Clevleand's suburbs extends outward, as well, and the diversity of quality is strong. Much of this is due to the dramatic natural setting of Greater Cleveland, with the obvious quality Lake Erie shore living, esp west of downtown. But then forests, gorges and bluffs to the east, and south of the city which add to the drama of suburban living in the CLE. East, you have the beautiful Eastern suburbs into the Chagrin Valley. Then there are New England-y burbs to the East such as Gates Mills, Chagrin Falls and Hudson-- in-between burbs like Huntin Valley and Moreland Hills are the foo-foo, massive-mansion, old-money towns. The diversity, quality and diverse architecture, different attractive themes, is rather stunning for a city of overall moderate size (among major metros).
IDK, but after adjusting for the differences in location and topography, it strikes me that I could replace the names of the communities with "Clayton," "Ladue," "Maryland Heights," "St. Charles," "Creve Coeur" and so on, and we could be talking about St. Louis instead.
And please note that this is coming from a native Kansas Citian, and that city also has some very comely suburbs and swanky residential districts within the city limits.
IDK, but after adjusting for the differences in location and topography, it strikes me that I could replace the names of the communities with "Clayton," "Ladue," "Maryland Heights," "St. Charles," "Creve Coeur" and so on, and we could be talking about St. Louis instead.
And please note that this is coming from a native Kansas Citian, and that city also has some very comely suburbs and swanky residential districts within the city limits.
Absolutely agree here. Or, “Grosse Pointe”, “Grosse Pointe Park”, “Birmingham”, “Bloomfield Hills”, etc. in the case of Detroit.
All great suburbs, but stand outs in quality and quantity vs some of these largest metros? Not to me.
It’s worth noting, I selected these metros based solely on population, using Riverside as the cutoff.
IDK, but after adjusting for the differences in location and topography, it strikes me that I could replace the names of the communities with "Clayton," "Ladue," "Maryland Heights," "St. Charles," "Creve Coeur" and so on, and we could be talking about St. Louis instead.
I stayed briefly in the St. Louis area, notably in Clayton which, along with University City, reminded me a lot of Cleveland Hts (though no Cleveland suburb matches the sheer urban mass and verticality of downtown Clayton). Ladue, from what little I saw, was very woodsy with old-line, huge mansions like Cleveland's ritzy Eastern suburbs. But I do think the topography, in itself, elevates those Cleveland burbs to another level -- at least for my tastes, anyway, and the New England style and charm of CLE eastern burbs likely does not exist in STL suburban areas. Throw in an "Emerald Necklace" network of set aside parks and forests circling Cleveland, along with a national park (Cuyahoga Valley) abutting the City to the south, along with various suburban towns woven into each, and the situation gets even more interesting... And, of course, St. Louis has no major lake or lakeshore, so there're no comparators to those Cleveland burbs in STL.
Despite this, I have no doubt, though, given STL's status as an old-line, industrial major American metropolis there are tons of diverse, high-quality living options there.
yes suburbs of DC quiet livable, nice, walkable, and very very expensive right now, but people are blah, they are like all the same and NOVA is very cookie cutter esp Farifax, highways, strip malls now, MD has some quirkier suburbs and more diversel actually most interesting suburbs are around baltimore because there are some wealthy areas, Annapolis, and some country areas, and yup ghetto areas
NOVA is like all the same until you hit Loudoun county which used to be all wineries but is slowly becoming more like farifax with lots of malls and live to work space and new metro opening at dulles airport
but yup DC burbs are nice and convenieent
now lets talk NYC and NJ< every single town in NJ is so so unique and different and has amazing character, yup i said it, character, it matters, people are different in each town, i am from upper class white town with pretty parks, nice schools , great resturants, but then 2 towns away is elizabeth, a port town full of industry, most immigrants, great bodegas, then you have all the amaxing quirky beach towns, upper nj is mountain towns and south jersey is rural, but mostly around NYC its cool people working hard,and i dont feel unsafe like i do in DC , cops do their jobs and families are important, in DC nobody has kids
yes suburbs of DC quiet livable, nice, walkable, and very very expensive right now, but people are blah, they are like all the same and NOVA is very cookie cutter esp Farifax, highways, strip malls now, MD has some quirkier suburbs and more diversel actually most interesting suburbs are around baltimore because there are some wealthy areas, Annapolis, and some country areas, and yup ghetto areas
NOVA is like all the same until you hit Loudoun county which used to be all wineries but is slowly becoming more like farifax with lots of malls and live to work space and new metro opening at dulles airport
but yup DC burbs are nice and convenieent
now lets talk NYC and NJ< every single town in NJ is so so unique and different and has amazing character, yup i said it, character, it matters, people are different in each town, i am from upper class white town with pretty parks, nice schools , great resturants, but then 2 towns away is elizabeth, a port town full of industry, most immigrants, great bodegas, then you have all the amaxing quirky beach towns, upper nj is mountain towns and south jersey is rural, but mostly around NYC its cool people working hard,and i dont feel unsafe like i do in DC , cops do their jobs and families are important, in DC nobody has kids
Yeah I'd agree with this. Although, a lot of Central NJ and parts of the suburbia in Northern NJ (ie.,Paramus, Parsippany, etc etc) is characterless. Lots of stroads and strip malls lol.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 03-27-2023 at 08:15 AM..
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