Standout suburb for your city (neighborhood, bars, electric)

[rnc2mbfl]

Being in the same county, I'd say that Palo Alto is a suburb of San Jose before I'd say it was a suburb of San Francisco. For SF, I'd say Sausalito.

For Miami, it's either Miami Beach or Coral Gables, though way more people will know the Beach than the Gables.

For Raleigh, it's Cary.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by cpomp

For Philadelphia it is a toss up between The Main Line (which is actually several towns along a line) or West Chester, which was recently voted Americas best main street town.

I might be inclined to say Bryn Mawr because it's the quintessential Main Line suburb. It's name is associated with wealthy blue bloods, nationally, in large part because of the prestigious Seven Sisters college there that carries the suburb's name (careful not to call it a town, because most or all of the Main Line villages are unincorporated areas).

[Vincent_Adultman]

For Seattle nationally, I'd say Bellevue, Kirkland and Renton (maybe Redmond also?). Tacoma could technically be called a suburb in which case it would be the runaway winner, but no one who lives in the Puget Sound region actually thinks of it that way.

The Bay Area is a tricky one since it really is more a conglomerate of cities than the traditional city-suburb dynamic you see in most US cities. For example, should Berkeley be considered a suburb? In terms of classic suburbs, I'd say maybe Saulsalito, Walnut Creek, and San Mateo are the most well known. I'm not sure how to classify Palo Alto and other cities and towns in the heart of Silicon Valley. They're suburban in nature but in terms of commute patterns they don't function like traditional suburbs.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

Detroit was a hard one. Birmingham is really, really nice, but small. Lots of people know the Grosse Pointe towns, partially from the movie Grosse Pointe Blank. Auburn Hills was another one that popped in my mind because of the football stadium.

Not anymore, but when I was there for college, Auburn Hills had the basketball arena, and Pontiac down the road had the football stadium.

For Detroit I’d go Grosse Pointe, Bloomfield Hills, and Birmingham. Another one while not technically a suburb, but it’s damm close, some surburbs are actually farther, and I’ve made that drive often, Ann Arbor. Although they really like to distance themselves from Detroit. I always found that funny.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

The question asked for individual suburbs, not clusters.

Naperville is easily more recognized and known than any one north shore suburb that isn't Evanston. It has 150,000 people besides.

I think Schaumburg is better known, outside of the region.

[westsaeed]

Sacramento : Folsom, Roseville and Elk Grove in that order.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

In Chicago, #1 is probably Evanston. #2 is probably Naperville.

Some may throw Oak Park in there but OP is more known locally than outside of Chicago, whereas Evanston has Northwestern University, and Naperville has a lot of corporate roots along its north corridor.

I'd definitely put Evanston first, but I'm surprised you consider Naperville such an obvious second place - I would've put it in the same basket as Aurora and Joliet: small to medium-sized regional cities that anchor the outskirts of the metro area.

I think Oak Park is at least comparable to all of those except Evanston, mainly for its associations with Frank Lloyd Wright and (more recently) the documentary about race relations in the high school.

Edit: Someone mentioned Wheaton, and that definitely has to be up there too - I've met a lot of people who have heard of the Christian college.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by TheProf

Cleveland: even though there are wealthier, per capita suburbs, old-line Shaker Heights still rules the roost. It is by far the best known suburb outside of Cleveland, esp on the snobby East Coast, and has rapid transit service -- its the best served transit suburb in Greater Cleveland by a long shot.

Lakewood seems to be decently well known lately, being a dense, urban Millennial destination and all. But SH is still probably first, yeah.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by cpomp

For Philadelphia it is a toss up between The Main Line (which is actually several towns along a line) or West Chester, which was recently voted Americas best main street town.

Overall I'm pretty sure it would be one of the Main Line 'burbs, but just looking at the Jersey side I'd say either Collingswood or Cherry Hill.

[bus man]

Originally Posted by cpomp

For Philadelphia it is a toss up between The Main Line (which is actually several towns along a line) or West Chester, which was recently voted Americas best main street town.

I agree with the Main Line as a whole, but how do you pick just one as the suburban representative? Maybe Bryn Mawr, maybe Villanova, maybe something else.

Though, if we're going to pick just one suburb and not an entire suburban row, I think I'd go for King of Prussia. (Valley Forge might be more famous for its historical significance, but I don't think it's as widely known specifically as being a suburb of Philadelphia.)