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Tyson's Corner is definitely an edge city. More office space than bedrooms, unincorporated, further out from its main city than the other two. Bellevue and Scottsdale are real cities with mayors. Plano Texas would have been a better comparison over Tyson's. But out of the these three, Scottsdale. Beautiful homes, clean, more nightlife, resorts and cultural amenities than the other 2 combined. Great shopping, tons of galleries, historic parts like Old town. By far the most complete and interesting by far over the other two.
I wouldn't call any of these "edge cities" since all of them are very close to their primary cities (Seattle, Phoenix and DC respectively).
What you just described is by definition what makes them edge cities, on the edge of their primary ones....
"An Edge City is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown (or central business district) in what had previously been a residential or rural area. Other terms for the areas include suburban activity centers, megacenters, and suburban business districts."
I thought about including Buckhead since it has very similar traits to these other three cities, but since it's technically within the city limits of Atlanta, that would negate it being an edge city of its own.
What you just described is by definition what makes them edge cities, on the edge of their primary ones....
"An Edge City is an American term for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown (or central business district) in what had previously been a residential or rural area. Other terms for the areas include suburban activity centers, megacenters, and suburban business districts."
I thought about including Buckhead since it has very similar traits to these other three cities, but since it's technically within the city limits of Atlanta, that would negate it being an edge city of its own.
Ok I stand corrected. When I think of edge cities I think of places like Irvine California and Plano Texas. I don't really think of Scottsdale in particular as an edge city. And Bellevue is very close to Seattle. I guess I thought of it more as a distance thing.
Would love an update on this to get some recent thoughts. Just visited Scottsdale last week. The landscaping and overall layout was very clean and tidy everywhere we drove and anecdotally we saw quite a few fancier cars than we see here north of Bellevue which is super vain but was cool
nonetheless. One thing we saw way too much of were political signs at every corner.
Here on the eastside of Seattle it appears crime has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic times. Depending where you go, the areas are split up into planned developments that don’t cohesively connect to each other. It just doesn’t seem as safe as it used to.
Scottsdale is more compelling than it was a few years ago due to the wider ability of remote work. Might consider it after the current economic turmoil ends. Love to hear thoughts of how it’s changed since 2019.
Scottsdale is movie-set beautiful. As you drive north, the city and adjacent areas have preserved more open space and the combination of having a clean, planned, affluent city with stunning mountain and desert views is hard to beat. I was there in March with temperatures in the mid 60s and it was truly paradise.
Bellevue is a very rich, upscale city. The nightlife is impressive and the shopping is even more impressive.
I wouldn't consider Bellevue a hotspot for nightlife. First time i've ever heard that.
Lot of shopping, for sure.
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