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Since many cities and metros have become overgrown nowadays, many areas outside the metros that previously had smaller cities before are becoming themselves absorbed part of the larger metro area, along with having a much higher growth rate. However, these areas may not always be the most desirable places to live.
Which one of these higher growing areas would you choose, based on the merits of those places alone?
-Economy
removed - see the room sticky please
-Diversity
-Crime Rate
-Architecture
-Entertainment
-Natural Features
-Anything else?
Last edited by atlantagreg30127; 02-21-2012 at 10:21 PM..
The areas you mention are not what I consider "exurban". They are/were cities in their own right, with their own histories and economies. Close-by metros may be spreading to them and some commuters may use them as bedroom communities, but they are not exurbs. Exurbs are recently settled formerly rural areas that have popped up along highway corridors leading out of major cities.
Easy choice for me, Hagerstown. Its not my bias but IMO its the best of the ones on the list. While LA may not be one of my top 10 preferred cities to live in, its one of my top 5 favorite places to visit. I love LA but what I dont love about LA is its suburbs in the inland empire. They're ugly, depressing, and the most sprawly places I have ever seen in my entire life. I am not an urban advocate by any means and could care less but the type of sprawl in the inland empire is to much to just overlook IMO. Never been to Rockford before but would assume its mostly flat?
Hagerstown is lush green, charming, beautiful mountains. Its straps the western region of Maryland and the West Virginia Panhandle. The panhandle is home to some very beautiful charming towns in the Hagerstown area with great scenery IMO. Places like Funkstown, Fort Ashby, Wind Lea, Nancy Hanks Birthplace, Travelers rest, Patterson's creek, Saddle mountain, Williamsport, etc
The areas you mention are not what I consider "exurban". They are/were cities in their own right, with their own histories and economies. Close-by metros may be spreading to them and some commuters may use them as bedroom communities, but they are not exurbs. Exurbs are recently settled formerly rural areas that have popped up along highway corridors leading out of major cities.
Well, what's connecting the major cities to these smaller cities ARE a string of exurbs, which is why those cities are in themselves becoming exurbs with not as strong of an economic pull as they had before.
For example, the Lehigh Valley has developed a huge amount of suburban housing that is not tied to the local economies of Bethlehem or Allentown. In fact, in addition to sending commuters to Philadelphia, but they are also sending commuters to NYC.
I just think its interesting how these areas have things in common. Though, at this point, only San Bernardino and Riverside are considered part of LA CSA.
Is Frederick included in Hagerstown? I did a contract job there for a year, it has a nice little restored downtown with brew pubs, Civil War sites, non stop rail into the district. that place was cool
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Too short of a list to choose from on the poll. Inland Empire doesn't seem exurban to me but rather continued excessive sprawl reaching out from LA. Exurban is where the suburbs transition into rural, still settled but more pastoral or wooded with acreage dotted with small cities and towns.
I'd say Cape Cod or Eastern King County outside of Seattle, or maybe Marin/Napa/Sonoma (much nicer than Stockton/Modesto) areas. Lehigh Valley or Hagertstown would be the best choices on the poll.
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