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Chicago's suburbs from about Evanston to North Chicago along the Lake Shore/Waulkegan line are "iconic..." Exceedingly wealthy, quaint & sophisticated towns.
My favorite neighborhoods are generally from the Highland Park to Wilmette, including where the Ferris Bueller and Risky Business were filmed. This area well planned, quiet & extremely beautiful--like the west suburbs of Boston (re; Westwood, Dover, Sherborn, Needham, Weston, Waltham, Lincoln, Lexington, Concord, Belmont, Winchester, etc).
That Ferrari 250 glass house (Highland Park) changed owners, and was recently renovated, w/ expanded metal work and glass. It's a kind of a crap parcel (thanks to the ravine/brook running through) in an otherwise amazing neighborhood. They installed a new, massive underground garage comprising nearly the entire parcel, incl under the home (which was temporarily set up on jacks). Looks like someone wanted a large/ secure space to put a collection of exotic cars.
Last edited by odurandina; 11-14-2019 at 01:13 PM..
Just a nit that Philadelphia and Chicago are actually pretty similar in metro area terms relative to median income/affluence (they're almost precisely even on MHI, but the Philly metro actually has a slight edge on MFI):
What's more is that Chicago proper has more relative wealth than Philly proper, so the level of wealth in the Philly 'burbs is clearly pretty high to be at parity with the Chicago area overall.
I'm really focusing on the top level wealth- Kenilworth, Glencoe, Winnetka, Lake Forest.
Edit: Gladwyne is as wealthy as those, much like Weston and Wellesley in MA. My original point stands, though, that the Chicago North Shore is just as sophisticated, walkable, and affluent as any. What Chicago suburbs lack, to me, is a plethora of green space, parks, preserved land. And, it's tough to replicate the East Coast suburban character. But that's just an opinion.
I'm really focusing on the top level wealth- Kenilworth, Glencoe, Winnetka, Lake Forest.
Edit: Gladwyne is as wealthy as those, much like Weston and Wellesley in MA. My original point stands, though, that the Chicago North Shore is just as sophisticated, walkable, and affluent as any. What Chicago suburbs lack, to me, is a plethora of green space, parks, preserved land. And, it's tough to replicate the East Coast suburban character. But that's just an opinion.
Yep; Villanova, Bryn Mawr, Wayne and Devon are also prime candidates for 1%-er type wealth you're referring to and match up extremely well with the characteristics contemplated by the thread topic.
But yes, overall, I'd agree that there's a "je ne sais quoi" about East Coast suburbia. Not that there aren't wonderful and fantastic suburbs in other regions, but the combination of unique architecture, interspersed nature, rolling topography, and generally very established feel all contribute to a particular "vibe."
Great street views of Boston-area towns/cities, by the way. Definitely showcases the region well.
DETROIT
Notable suburbs that combined walkability, charming neighborhoods, and significant parkland/scenery in the Detroit area include:
BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham is a tiny super-posh suburb with a large downtown situated in the wealthiest part of Metro Detroit. The downtown is surrounded by charming 1920’s-30’s homes and large, modern McMansions on postage stamp-sized lots. There is little notable scenery/nature outside of the river impoundment of Quarton Lake, but Birmingham is just a few miles south of the Cranbrook Institute, a 200-acre cultural and educational complex that includes fountains, statues, formal gardens, reflecting pools, a graduate art college, a contemporary art museum, a natural history museum and several miles of trails through the grounds and hilly wooded areas (which are open to the public).
GROSSE POINTES
Grosse Pointe is a collection of 5 upper crust suburbs along Lake St. Clair east of Detroit. It is the old money suburb originally inhabited by the auto barons who built large estates overlooking the lake. It has 3 small main street sections – The Cabbage Patch, the Hill, and the Village. It does not have any notable greenspace except a number of well-appointed, residents-only lakefront parks.
Yep; Villanova, Bryn Mawr, Wayne and Devon are also prime candidates for 1%-er type wealth you're referring to and match up extremely well with the characteristics contemplated by the thread topic.
But yes, overall, I'd agree that there's a "je ne sais quoi" about East Coast suburbia. Not that there aren't wonderful and fantastic suburbs in other regions, but the combination of unique architecture, interspersed nature, rolling topography, and generally very established feel all contribute to a particular "vibe."
Great street views of Boston-area towns/cities, by the way. Definitely showcases the region well.
Not to mention the extreme wealth in Lower Gwynedd and Bucks County money is $$ also insane. And the natural character is surreal. I call it fairytale land. Many of the suburban areas feel as if you are living in the country, when you are just minutes from everything.
Southeast Pennsylvania truly feels like the English countryside, with its rolling hills and abundance of historic architecture, especially beautiful stone buildings everywhere.
The character of Southeast Pennsylvania is only matched by Boston. They are most definitely the top 2 suburban areas in the USA.
DETROIT
Notable suburbs that combined walkability, charming neighborhoods, and significant parkland/scenery in the Detroit area include:
BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham is a tiny super-posh suburb with a large downtown situated in the wealthiest part of Metro Detroit. The downtown is surrounded by charming 1920’s-30’s homes and large, modern McMansions on postage stamp-sized lots. There is little notable scenery/nature outside of the river impoundment of Quarton Lake, but Birmingham is just a few miles south of the Cranbrook Institute, a 200-acre cultural and educational complex that includes fountains, statues, formal gardens, reflecting pools, a graduate art college, a contemporary art museum, a natural history museum and several miles of trails through the grounds and hilly wooded areas (which are open to the public).
GROSSE POINTES
Grosse Pointe is a collection of 5 upper crust suburbs along Lake St. Clair east of Detroit. It is the old money suburb originally inhabited by the auto barons who built large estates overlooking the lake. It has 3 small main street sections – The Cabbage Patch, the Hill, and the Village. It does not have any notable greenspace except a number of well-appointed, residents-only lakefront parks.
There's something to be said about history, charm and "sense of place" going hand-in-hand. That's where Philly and Boston rule the day.
North Jersey certainly has history, as well, but it's not as ubiquitously evident as in MA and PA, mostly because it unfortunately embraced post-WWII auto- development a little too enthusiastically in the 50s and 60s with not-so-great land-use planning in place.
I don't think that suburbs generally conform to the standards described. Old cities with old suburbs might fit the description but anything built up after WW2 won't. Some old cities grew out to connect with smaller old satellite cities that were never considered "suburbs" until fairly recently. some of those are possibly in line with the OPs focus.
My current city had 30,000 residents in 1940 and now has over 500k and a metro of a million. In living memory, it was a small city with a vibrant and walkable downtown, but it has exploded to having dispersed commercial areas and total reliance on the automobile.
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