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Generally older metros have towns that where independent and have a sense of place.
Lexington, Concord, Salem, Plymouth, Lowell, Cambridge and Gloucester MA are probably some of the most famous places in the US and they are within the Boston MSA.
So do newer, western cities. I named a few upthread.
I love Long Island, but how much tourism does it really get? I don't really remember seeing tourists there growing up, or when I go back to see family. While there's plenty to do, there doesn't seem to be much that would attract tourists specifically. I guess the Hamptons would be the big attraction, but I feel like even that crowd is primarily from elsewhere within the metro area.
On the other hand, I was at the Fire Island Lighthouse last month -- never been there before -- and was surprised to hear a number of foreign languages being spoken (and not the languages associated with local immigrant communities, either). I wondered who these people were. Were they visiting the city and decided to take a long trip out on the Island just to see a lighthouse? (For perspective, it took me 30 minutes just to get there from my parents' place in Long Beach). Were they actually traveling from Europe and beyond to take a beach vacation on Long Island in late November? Neither prospect seemed particularly likely to me, and yet there they were.
Sorry I missed this yesterday!
In 2016 tourism on Long Island was a 5.5 billion dollar industry. It varies but the two counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island get about 10% of the tourism revenue in New York State. That is pretty significant for just 2 out of 62 counties to get 10% of the revenue in one of the top states for tourism in the country.
Yes, I have met foreigners in both Robert Moses SP on Fire Island and Jones Beach SP. At Jones Beach I played pitch and putt golf with a British couple who were visiting the city for two weeks (?) but wanted to get out of there for a while. Maybe people heard of Fire Island and Jones Beach overseas? You also find tourists visiting the various mansions on Long Island (notably Old Westbury) and to a lesser extent the villages. Anyway, I imagine the Hudson Valley gets similar type tourists.
Anyway, the big money comes along in the summer primarily for people renting places along the South Shore and to a lesser extent other parts of the Island. Long Island is also a big boating place and has a TON of golf courses and wineries for just two counties.
In 2016 tourism on Long Island was a 5.5 billion dollar industry. It varies but the two counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island get about 10% of the tourism revenue in New York State. That is pretty significant for just 2 out of 62 counties to get 10% of the revenue in one of the top states for tourism in the country.
Thanks for the detailed answer! It seems like Long Island doesn't necessarily have that one big attraction that hooks tourists, but there are a lot of little things that add up to big business.
You need to have a trolley running down the street to have a "true Main Street"? That is a pretty unusual opinion. I don't even think Mayberry had a trolley.
Philadelphia probably has the most suburbs with character, is very debatable. I mean New York, Boston, Chicago and probably some other cities will disagree with you. Just by size, New York dwarfs the Philadelphia metro area and our suburbs also have character - and the point is we have a lot more of them.
True-most of Long Island doesn't feel as "quaint" as some of the Philly burbs though. There are some towns of course-Garden City is one I thought was very nice. Westchester has many I'm sure-Scarsdale, Hastings, Sleepy Hollow, etc. I'd also say North Jersey burbs beat South Jersey burbs here, although SJ has some great towns too like Haddonfield, Collingswood (w/ 24 hour subway access), etc.
Also, most of these towns were originally developed as "streetcar suburbs" so I kind of see the relevance in still having the trolley running on Main Street.
I may have missed it, but if no one else mentioned it - METAIRIE, LOUISIANA. Suburb of New Orleans. Love that little corner of The Big Easy.
Honorable mention to Houston's Woodlands.
Dayton, OH has some beautiful little suburbs surrounding it. So does Springfiend, MO. I am not sure of the names of those suburbs but I definitely noticed their charm when visiting those cities.
Recently moved from the D.C. area, which outside close-in Alexandria, Arlington, and Bethesda, is plastered with very generic chain restauarant/strip mall suburbs. Bay Area, where I am now, is the opposite. Great little downtowns in Walnut Creek, San Mateo, and Mill Valley.
Boston also has quite a few, Marblehead and the nicer North Shore suburbs in particular. Kirkland near Seattle as well.
True-most of Long Island doesn't feel as "quaint" as some of the Philly burbs though. There are some towns of course-Garden City is one I thought was very nice. Westchester has many I'm sure-Scarsdale, Hastings, Sleepy Hollow, etc. I'd also say North Jersey burbs beat South Jersey burbs here, although SJ has some great towns too like Haddonfield, Collingswood (w/ 24 hour subway access), etc.
Northport, Long Island feels quaint; started as a fishing village.
Another vote for Concord, MA. When you're there--unlike so many suburbs (and sorry, especially those newer)--you can only be in one place. (Unless there are other spots where the Revolutionary War started, Thoreau lived, Alcott wrote, and Hawthorne and Emerson pontificated. . .and which has managed to preserve this history, as well as conserve the land around it.)
Although Columbus has its fair share of nondescript sprawl we have several suburbs that are unique in their character and great places to live.
Grandview Heights
Old Worthington
Upper Arlington, particularly South of Lane Avenue
Bexley
Bridge Street development in Dublin which is underway will be a great addition
Delaware
Granville
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This many golf courses are not for just the locals!
