Which would you consider your city's "showcase" suburb? (hotel, houses)
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I define a "showcase" suburb as having most, if not all, of the following attributes:
1. It's well-established. It hasn't just recently been thrown up on the metro fringe, and it's maintained its health for a reasonably long period of time.
2. It's upper-middle class. It's not too exclusive, but it does have money, and is very appealing and well-kept.
3. It has a population of at least 20,000. It has to be reasonably dense, have a critical mass of people, and have some level of ambiance to it, as opposed to being some quiet village or hamlet.
4. It has a defined and vibrant central business district. Bonus points if it's dense, walkable, and not too overloaded with chain stores (although some are acceptable).
5. It has good transit connections. You should be able to get into the city easily both by car and by train/bus.
6. Only ONE suburb, please. Which ONE best fits this description?
So, using this criteria, which is your city's showcase suburb? For Pittsburgh, I'd have to say its showcase suburb is Mt. Lebanon.
Urgh...I don't know. I can think of several that fit that criteria right off the bat.
I'd say Plano (we're in DFW), but it's a city of over 300,000 that houses several major corporate headquarters, so it's more like a city of its own (with really swanky parts and not-so-swanky parts). It's well-established and 20 minutes from downtown Dallas.
Maybe Southlake, but it's not that 'established' an area, though parts of it are older.
Lakewood? Isn't that part of Dallas proper, though?
You got me. I just asked around at work and there is no consensus.
- Home to the most exclusive stores in the Phoenix area
- Although Scottsdale comes off as being the wealthiest area in the Phoenix area, Paradise Valley, Chandler, and Litchfield Park have higher median incomes.
- Home to a number of large events (Barrett Jackson auto show, golf tournaments)
- Has a huge reputation for vanity (most plastic surgeons per capita of any city in the country) and the nouveau riche (30,000 dollar millionaires).
- World class resorts.
First of all, I can definitely identify a premier suburb for both of my metros. But, I won't be following your carefully laid out requirements as much as I wouldn't expect you to follow my carefully laid out definition.
For Miami, I'd say Coral Gables is the Showcase suburb. Coral Gables is old money chic. It houses the University of Miami, the Biltmore Hotel, Miracle Mile shopping district and the whole place exudes old Miami charm with its tree lined streets and beautiful homes.
For Raleigh, I agree with Mackinac81, it's Cary. Cary is very well off, highly educated, home to the world's largest privately held software company, the metro's most luxurious hotel and spa (The Umstead) and various country club developments. Though it's fairly "new" by NE standards, there is a charming little downtown. At 140,000 people, Cary is the largest "town" and suburb in the Carolinas. In fact, it's actually larger than any municipality in neighborinig South Carolina and has more population density within its municpal boundaries than Charlotte.
Although there are weathier areas in the Cleveland metro, my vote would go to Shaker Hts:
Most of the houses were built 1920's. It has amazing architecture, schools, and two light-rail lines connecting it to Downtown.
Oh, WoW! I love this posting, Costello ... great pics of one of Americas premiere suburbs.
Cleveland has a large market of opulent suburbs ... Hunting Valley, Moreland Hills, Waite Hill, Pepper Pike, Gates Mills, Cleveland Heights, Bay Village, just to name a few ... haha
Shaker Heights would definitely fit the bill for the topic of what this thread was designed for though.
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