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Please give us your opinion on what the general consensus is for the top rated high end suburb and city neighborhood in your metro or any other you wish to include. FYI, some of my locations are technically different municipalities but otherwise could be an urban neighborhood or leafy suburb.
Expense and income usually correlate to desirability, so I expect places that are beautiful and wealthy. Although I know this is not always the case.
NY: City-Greenwich/West Village, Suburb-Greenwich, CT
LA: City-Beverly Hills, Suburb-Laguna Beach
Chicago: City-Gold Coast, Suburb-Winnetka
San Francisco: City-Pacific Heights, Suburb-Sausalito
DC: City-Georgetown, Suburb-Bethesda
Philadelphia: City-Rittenhouse, Suburb-Bryn Mawr
Boston: City-Beacon Hill, Suburb-Wellesley
Dallas: City-Uptown, Suburb-Southlake
I generally consider the Park cities to be Dallas city neighborhoods due to geography and form. They would be number 2 and 3 for Dallas city neighborhoods in my opinion.
So I'm taking it that "top-rated" doesn't just mean high-income, good schools, low crime, but more specifically implies a somewhat old-money, centrally located neighborhood that's well known and a fairly common place for tourists to visit.
Reno, NV
City: Old Southwest, especially along California Ave
Suburb: Nothing really in the vein of these suburbs, but Spanish Springs is seen as the most desirable. The west side of Carson City, around the governor's mansion, is the closest thing in the area to an old-money suburb
Seattle
City: Queen Anne
Suburb: Medina (Gates and Bezos live here)
*Chestnut Hill is actually more suburban than urban in character, but it's within the core city limits, so everyone counts it as a city neighborhood. Gladwyne lacks a commercial center on the scale of Bryn Mawr or Chestnut Hill, but it's actually the wealthiest community on the Main Line (which collectively also fits the OP's criteria) and the one where most of our sports celebrities opt to buy when they start raking it in.
A Pittsburgher is free to correct me as well on these:
As for New York City, Greenwich Village (East and West, but especially West) may be the most-frequently-visited upscale neighborhood, thanks to its being an epicenter for both jazz and gay nightlife, but the Upper East Side has greater cachet and almost as many visitors thanks to all the designer clothing boutiques lining Madison Avenue.
I would argue that the Gold Coast, in 2021, may not be the gold standard for Chicago neighborhoods. There are some bargain mid rises, as many of the residential buildings are 60s and 70s builds and are quite dated. Then again, few residential neighborhoods can match Astor Street. Lincoln Park is probably the most well rounded and complete, with some areas that are every bit as nice as Astor St.
In Boston, if we’re going by price, Seaport is now the most expensive (or was pre covid). Apartments and condos were up around $2000 psqft. In reality though, I don’t think either Seaport or Beacon are the trophy neighborhoods. The answer is Back Bay.
I agree with Winnetka/Kenilworth for the Chicago suburb. Wellesley is likely the answer for Boston as well, though Weston is still the wealthiest along with Dover. I think Concord is the most representative of the elite Boston suburbs, but isn’t considered as elite as Wellesley, Weston, Dover, and is more in line with Lexington, Sherborn, Lincoln, Carlisle.
City neighborhood: Tremont. There are some neighborhoods that are close, but Tremont has that “if you have to ask how much it costs you can’t afford it” vibe.
Los Angeles
City Bel Air, Brentwood or more central is Hancock park.
Suburb San Marino or Beverly hills city
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