Which major cities have the most interesting suburbs? (neighborhoods, schools)

[emm74]

Cambridge and Somerville are separate cities, not suburbs. I would consider them part of the overall urban area in the Boston metro, not the suburbs. I'm not familiar enough with some of the other cities mentioned here to know whether the suggestions in those locations are more accurately defined as urban rather than suburban.

Here in Denver, the city itself is pretty sprawling, with many residential districts - my neighborhood is a planned urban community on the site of the old airport and it's part of the city, with city schools and services, but it's also somewhat suburban in nature - not completely so, there is public transportation, mostly single family homes but they are very close together, no big yards, so it's kind of a mix, and other parts are similar. You have go a bit of ways out to get to the real suburbs (which are pretty damn uninteresting IMO)

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by emm74

Cambridge and Somerville are separate cities, not suburbs. I would consider them part of the overall urban area in the Boston metro, not the suburbs. I'm not familiar enough with some of the other cities mentioned here to know whether the suggestions in those locations are more accurately defined as urban rather than suburban.

Here in Denver, the city itself is pretty sprawling, with many residential districts - my neighborhood is a planned urban community on the site of the old airport and it's part of the city, with city schools and services, but it's also somewhat suburban in nature - not completely so, there is public transportation, mostly single family homes but they are very close together, no big yards, so it's kind of a mix, and other parts are similar. You have go a bit of ways out to get to the real suburbs (which are pretty damn uninteresting IMO)

Cambridge, maybe not Kendall and Harvard square are major employment centers but Somerville is a bedroom community/suburb.

[NigerianNightmare]

^^^^
While Cambridge is urban the reason it was built was proximity to Boston which makes it a suburb. Alexandria/Arlington on the other hand are both older than Washington D.C which makes them cities, although their growth was certainly aided by Washington D.C.

[emm74]

Originally Posted by NigerianNightmare

^^^^
While Cambridge is urban the reason it was built was proximity to Boston which makes it a suburb. Alexandria/Arlington on the other hand are both older than Washington D.C which makes them cities, although their growth was certainly aided by Washington D.C.

Cambridge was founded in 1630, the same year as Boston, by some of the original Puritan settlers. It was not created as a suburb to Boston, it grew as a farming village into a town into a city, in large part due to the fact that Harvard was located there rather than across the river in Boston.

[Kmanshouse]

Originally Posted by edsg25

You have to give credit to Chicago, given it has suburbs like Evanston and Oak Park.

Chicago has some really nice suburbs, but the only one that feels "interesting" compared to other regions, etc. is Evanston. I mean, you have Lake Michigan, an elite, large university in Northwestern, immediate proximity to Chicago. It feels like a city, but it's not. Lots of opulent rich areas and also rough areas.

Very interesting place.

Oak Park is on the cool list, but with no Northwestern or Lake Michigan, it's not nearly in the same league of "interesting" as Evanston.

[grega94]

Originally Posted by NigerianNightmare

^^^^
While Cambridge is urban the reason it was built was proximity to Boston which makes it a suburb. Alexandria/Arlington on the other hand are both older than Washington D.C which makes them cities, although their growth was certainly aided by Washington D.C.

Wasn't Alexandria part of Washington DC, DC used to be on both sides of the river, it was a perfect square, but then DC gave the south western half back to Virginia in 1846
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distri...a_retrocession

[Clayton white guy]

Yes, the City of Alexandria and Arlington County were part of the original "diamond" of the District of Columbia. Yes, Alexandria as well as the present southwestern D.C. neighborhood of Georgetown predates the District of Columbia by decades. They were both included to give our new capital a couple of ports on the Potomac River. It was part of the Compromise of 1850 that ended the slave trade in The District of Columbia to "release" the south side of the Potomac River back to Virginia so they could continue the slave auctions. That is why the District of Columbia is now a ragged triangle. You can still see some of the massive boundary posts from the original survey in the 1790's on both sides of the river.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

Chicago has some really nice suburbs, but the only one that feels "interesting" compared to other regions, etc. is Evanston. I mean, you have Lake Michigan, an elite, large university in Northwestern, immediate proximity to Chicago. It feels like a city, but it's not. Lots of opulent rich areas and also rough areas.

Very interesting place.

Oak Park is on the cool list, but with no Northwestern or Lake Michigan, it's not nearly in the same league of "interesting" as Evanston.

I would agree with your assessment; the advantages of Evanston outweigh Oak Park's. You could add that downtown Evanston far exceeds Oak Park's downtown, as well.

What Oak Park does have that Evanston hasn't is the treasure trove of Frank Lloyd Wright homes.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Miami has interesting suburbs like Miami Beach, Key Largo, and Boca Raton.

You could count Berkeley and Marin County as interesting San Francisco suburbs.

[Turnerbro]

Depends Boston and Philly have historic suburbs which is cool. For people looking for ultra planned communities with an urban feel, I'd say D.C Atlanta and Seattle are the best.