[dharper6]

Let's turn the discussion around from the thread about bad neighborhoods. What are your city's consistently good or generally good close-in neighborhoods? I'll start with the city I know best, Austin. I know I'm probably missing a lot of neighborhoods, so please chime in if you know Austin.

Austin:

Super affluent - Pemberton ("real" mansions)
Consistently nice - Tarrytown, Brykerwoods, Rosedale, Hyde Park, Allandale, Highland Hills
Very popular and generally in good shape (always getting better) - Bouldin Creek, Crestview, Clarksville, Highland Park
Where do Travis Heights, Wilshire Woods, and Barton Hills fit in? Not sure. What about the gentrifying East Austin neighorhoods?

[dharper6]

I should have mentioned...I didn't want to imply that the thread about the worst neighborhoods wasn't worthy; it is. And very interesting. I just thought it would also be interesting to know where the nicer looking neighborhoods are.

[edluva]

LA's most consistently good neighborhoods for out-of-town visitors:

watts, leimert park, sylmar, lincoln heights, hermon, garvanza, sunland, boyle heights, byzantine-latino quarter, pico-union, el sereno, westlake, filipinotown, san pedro, elysian valley, and jefferson park. in that order. all these neighborhoods have colorful nightlife, reknowned haute cuisine, beautiful architecture, world-class shopping, and the finest examples of urbanism los angeles has to offer, and should be saved for after 8-9pm when activity picks up for the evening.

make sure you bring some dark shades and dress in monochomatics - I suggest, for instance, all black, and bring a bandana (blue bandanas w/ black clothing is all the rage with pico-union fashionistas), or conversly, all red and you'll blend right in with the proud folks of watts/leimert park. Remember, in addition to partying hard, angeleno's are exceptionally fashionable, and you'll have an even better time dressing up for a night on the town.

[SpongeG]

Vancouver:
Shaugnessy, Kitsilano, Point Grey, University Area, Marine Drive, Southlands

[OhioGuy]

The Gold Coast and Lincoln Park. Maybe Hyde Park as well. I'm just listing the ones that I think have been "up there" for decades & decades. Chicago certainly has other good neighborhoods, but I'm not sure they have always consistently been at the level they may be at right now. Of course it always depends on personal opinion when it comes to viewpoints on good neighborhoods. What I view as good others may not or vice versa.

[Top Of The Park]

Denver has Park Hill, Montclair, Washington Park, Congress Park, Capitol Hill, Country Club, University Hills...to name a few

[Cleveland Brown]

Detroit (within city limits proper):

Palmer Woods - affluent to very affluent
Indian Village - affluent to very affluent
Sherwood Forest - middle to upper middle class
Boston-Edison / Arden Park - middle to upper middle class (going through a bit of a hard time)
Berry Subdivision - upper middle to affluent, where the Mayor's official residence, The Manoogian Mansion, is located
Rosedale Park - middle class
Greyhaven - big Mansions in the early 20th century, then abandonment, now coming back as McMansions for middle/upper middle class

Cleveland (within city limits proper):

Edgewater - middle class to affluent
Shaker Square - middle class to upper middle class
Westpark - middle class area where workers live to meet city residency requirements.

[MolsonExport]

Montreal: Westmount. For almost 100 years it was Canada's richest municipality. Still very, very posh, with mansions clinging to Mont Royale, overlooking downtown Montreal.

source: McGill Architecturehttp://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/schoenauer/arch528/lect08/d24.jpg

[VivaLFuego]

LA's most consistently good neighborhoods for out-of-town visitors:

watts, leimert park, sylmar, lincoln heights, hermon, garvanza, sunland, boyle heights, byzantine-latino quarter, pico-union, el sereno, westlake, filipinotown, san pedro, elysian valley, and jefferson park. in that order. all these neighborhoods have colorful nightlife, reknowned haute cuisine, beautiful architecture, world-class shopping, and the finest examples of urbanism los angeles has to offer, and should be saved for after 8-9pm when activity picks up for the evening.

make sure you bring some dark shades and dress in monochomatics - I suggest, for instance, all black, and bring a bandana (blue bandanas w/ black clothing is all the rage with pico-union fashionistas), or conversly, all red and you'll blend right in with the proud folks of watts/leimert park. Remember, in addition to partying hard, angeleno's are exceptionally fashionable, and you'll have an even better time dressing up for a night on the town.

:D

[alex1]

well, I'm sure Chicago will get covered quite well so I'll do my adopted "college town", New Haven, CT.

Overall, it's a shithole. Nothing's very consistant in New Haven (except its inconsistencies) but there are a few decent areas. East Rock is nice. Picture streetcar suburb without the streetcars. Few cool restaurants mixed in with other businesses and bars. It's a comfortable place with nice homes and a large grad student population. It's also in close to proximity to East Rock. A very nice park with a huge traprock that juts up like 350 ft.

And there's Wooster Sq. Wooster Square is my current neighborhood. It was settled in the early 1800's and the square (park) itself is quite nice. However, the place is too quiet for me and its claim to fame (first pizzeria in America) is overrated. It does have a farmer's market half the year but it's only twelve tents large (its size is a local joke among transplants but it is useful at times).

all in all, newHaven is a mess. Most of its historic neighborhoods were destroyed in the 50s-70s in the name of urban renewal. Urban renerwal New Haven style is the epitome of Modernism gone bad. Although some notable exceptions do exist (the Louis Kahn galleries are amazing).

New Haven does have long-term potential in the way of a healthy college town. For this to happen, the housing stock needs to be restored and Yale needs to do a better job of fitting into the community at large (Yale is an extremely poor neighbor). Seeing that the school will go through a $600 billion capital program in the coming years, I don't see how NewHaven doesn't improve in every which way. Then again, New Haven once recieved more money in urban renewal per capita then any other place in the country and it actually made it much worse.

[trvlr70]

For Chicago, it would be the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and East Lakeview. All these neighborhoods were originally intended and settled by the upper classes and have remained so throughout Chicago's history. No gentrification has been needed because, as a whole, the areas have never been in decline.

[Crawford]

^
Are you sure? I always thought Lincoln Park and Lakeview went through a period of relative postwar decline. I remember reading that there were many SRO hotels and low-income rooming houses, especially along Clark and Broadway.

Even today, while both neighborhoods are heavily yuppie, there is some scattered site CHA housing, a few remaining rooming houses and some Section 8 housing.

It's not just those two areas. A friend of mine in Old Town lives next to a senior citizens public housing building. There's more subsidized housing along North Avenue.

Many of America's current wealthy urban hoods underwent a period of decline in the mid-20th century. Take a look at Park Slope, the far Upper West Side, Dupont Circle, etc. You can still find remnants of the past in these yuppie playgrounds.

[alex1]

^
Are you sure? I always thought Lincoln Park and Lakeview went through a period of relative postwar decline. I remember reading that there were many SRO hotels and low-income rooming houses, especially along Clark and Broadway.

they did "decline" somewhat but they've always been traditionally working class hoods. In that regard, they've been relatively healthy for much of their history.

I don't think section 8 housing leads to a neighborhood being bad. Not that there's any studies that say that it stabalizes a 'hood either. The problems occur when section 8, SRO or other low-income housing becomes the norm while isolating those neighborhoods from jobs and transit.

[MplsTodd]

For Minneapolis, the consistantly good neighborhoods are generally located along the Chain of Lakes to the southwest of the downtown area:

Located around Lake of the Isles:
Kenwood
East Isles
Cedar-Dean-Isles

Located around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet:

West Calhoun
Linden Hills
Lynnhurst
Fulton

Another consistantly good area would be along the east and west banks of the Mississippi River between Franklin Avenue and Minnehaha Park, as well as the area along Minnehaha Parkway between Minnehaha Park and Lake Harriett (especially Tangletown--except for the nasty jet noise due to its proximity to the Mpls-St. Paul Airport).

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/neighborhoods.pdf

[ColDayMan]

Dayton:
College Hill/University Triangle
Catalpa Woods

Columbus:
Victorian Village
Old Beachwold

Cincinnati:
Hyde Park
Mt. Lookout
North Avondale
Pleasant Ridge

[rockyi]

Well, for Rock Island, it's my neighborhood of Highland Park. Of course. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/Dcp_0649.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/Dcp_0645.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/Dcp_0644.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/Dcp_0651.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/Dcp_0659.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/Dcp_0654.jpg

[MSP]

LA's most consistently good neighborhoods for out-of-town visitors:

watts, leimert park, sylmar, lincoln heights, hermon, garvanza, sunland, boyle heights, byzantine-latino quarter, pico-union, el sereno, westlake, filipinotown, san pedro, elysian valley, and jefferson park. in that order. all these neighborhoods have colorful nightlife, reknowned haute cuisine, beautiful architecture, world-class shopping, and the finest examples of urbanism los angeles has to offer, and should be saved for after 8-9pm when activity picks up for the evening.

make sure you bring some dark shades and dress in monochomatics - I suggest, for instance, all black, and bring a bandana (blue bandanas w/ black clothing is all the rage with pico-union fashionistas), or conversly, all red and you'll blend right in with the proud folks of watts/leimert park. Remember, in addition to partying hard, angeleno's are exceptionally fashionable, and you'll have an even better time dressing up for a night on the town.

:haha:
Sarcasm at its finest...

[dharper6]

Houston, in or near the inner loop:

Inside Loop:

River Oaks (huge area of mansions) - old money
West University - seems to be the neighborhood of choice for the doctors and lawyers (hmmm)
Heights (large historic area)
East side of of Bellaire
Timbergrove - a favorite of mine, although sketchy but improving areas are nearby
Montrose (not entirely consistent but always improving, and Houston's largest gay neighborhood)

Near the Loop but just outside:

Oak Forest and Garden Oaks - popular, great neighborhoods (some sketchy areas nearby)
Meyerland (VERY nice)
Bellaire close to the Loop
Tanglewood - next to the Galleria, with possibly the largest lot sizes in the city (many are about an acre)
Inner Memorial area
And my favorite: Willowbrook, where I grew up...just outside the loop off of Willowbend and Post Oak. After a decline in the 80s real estate bust, this
50's enclave has made a great comeback. I plan to move back to Willowbrook in 2010.

I know there are more, but the above neighborhoods come to mind at the moment.



Tanglewood
Heights

[10023]

^
Are you sure? I always thought Lincoln Park and Lakeview went through a period of relative postwar decline. I remember reading that there were many SRO hotels and low-income rooming houses, especially along Clark and Broadway.

Even today, while both neighborhoods are heavily yuppie, there is some scattered site CHA housing, a few remaining rooming houses and some Section 8 housing.

It's not just those two areas. A friend of mine in Old Town lives next to a senior citizens public housing building. There's more subsidized housing along North Avenue.

Many of America's current wealthy urban hoods underwent a period of decline in the mid-20th century. Take a look at Park Slope, the far Upper West Side, Dupont Circle, etc. You can still find remnants of the past in these yuppie playgrounds.

I think that while along Clark, North, etc there was (and is) subsidized housing and was lots of cheap apartments, the more rowhouse-heavy sidestreets, Lincoln Park West, and other areas have remained upper middle class or wealthy. I could of course be completely wrong.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Cincinnati:
Hyde Park
Mt. Lookout
North Avondale
Pleasant Ridge

Amberley Village, or is that outside the city limits?

[ColDayMan]

That's a suburb.

[Evergrey]

damn, Rock Island's Highland Park looks awesome

[jephweiser]

In Kansas City I would say:

1. Country Club Plaza
2. Brookside
3. Waldo

Recently Gentrifying Nice Neighborhoods:

1. The Crossroads Arts District
2. Volker
3. Union Hill

[arbeiter]

Kenwood

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/neighborhoods.pdf

MTM lived here! MTM lived here! kind of

[DaveofCali]

LA's most consistently good neighborhoods for out-of-town visitors:

watts, leimert park, sylmar, lincoln heights, hermon, garvanza, sunland, boyle heights, byzantine-latino quarter, pico-union, el sereno, westlake, filipinotown, san pedro, elysian valley, and jefferson park. in that order. all these neighborhoods have colorful nightlife, reknowned haute cuisine, beautiful architecture, world-class shopping, and the finest examples of urbanism los angeles has to offer, and should be saved for after 8-9pm when activity picks up for the evening.

make sure you bring some dark shades and dress in monochomatics - I suggest, for instance, all black, and bring a bandana (blue bandanas w/ black clothing is all the rage with pico-union fashionistas), or conversly, all red and you'll blend right in with the proud folks of watts/leimert park. Remember, in addition to partying hard, angeleno's are exceptionally fashionable, and you'll have an even better time dressing up for a night on the town.

Do you have to make everything about L.A. a sarcastic joke? :rolleyes: Your consistently cynical attitude about L.A. proves that you yourself are a sarcastic joke.

Anyway, for everyone else, L.A.'s consistently nice neighborhoods are as follows:

WEST OF DOWNTOWN

- Hancock Park (old rich area full of old large houses, was once the main area that housed the Hollywood wealthy)
- Larchmont Village (beside Hancock Park and has a nice little main street type downtown)
- Hollywood Hills (lots of nice architecture)
- Beachwood Canyon (area south of the Hollywood sign, hilly and has lots of nice houses)
- Westwood (wealthy urbanized area, also the area of UCLA and thus has a large student population)
- Bel Air
- Brentwood (including the urbanized southern area around Wilshire and San Vicente)
- Pacific Palisades (hilly rich area beside the ocean with its own main st. type downtown)
- Cheviot Hills
- Rancho Park
- Beverly Glen
- Beverlywood
- Fairfax
- Miracle Mile
- Carthay Circle (full of Spanish Colonial houses)

And of course, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood cities.

THE VALLEY

- Sherman Oaks
- Encino
- Studio City

[dfane]

Philly- none lol

[relnahe]

Philadelphia
-Chestnut Hill
-Logan Square
-Overbrook Farms
-Rittenhouse Square
-Roxborough
-Wynnfield Heights
-Somerset
-Girard Estates

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my mind.

[PhxSprawler]

Phoenix:

North Central Phoenix
Camelback Mountain area
Biltmore (bordering Camelback Rd. and north)
Paradise Valley (arugably a suburb)

I don't think any of the suburbs have had time to proove themselves, but maybe:

South Tempe
North Scottsdale

Other patches throughout the region are night and day.

[LivingIn622]

Do downtowns count?
For Detroit

Indian Village-stable
Boston Edison-stable
Brush Park-improvement
North River-nice
Downtown-nice
Midtown-nice
Corktown-good condition
Hubbard Richard-stable

Why I said nice for some, is it's hard to check out neighborhoods when they're highrise apartments.

[Crawford]

I would leave out Boston Edison.

It's admittedly very beautiful, but is experiencing some rough times (safety and foreclosure crisis) and is surrounded by very tough ghettohoods.

[LivingIn622]

I would leave out Boston Edison.

It's admittedly very beautiful, but is experiencing some rough times (safety and foreclosure crisis) and is surrounded by very tough ghettohoods.

True. But some of the boston Edison mansions are breathtaking. And even though experincing some tough times. it's not a ghetto. It's still is fairly safe and well kept.

Boston edison.

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/7787/bostonedison18jr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/3297/bostonedison22pn9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[PHX31]

Phoenix:

North Central Phoenix
Camelback Mountain area
Biltmore (bordering Camelback Rd. and north)
Paradise Valley (arugably a suburb)


When you say North Central Phoenix, I would say the neighborhoods of:

Roosevelt, Willo, F.Q. Story, Encanto-Palmcroft, Alvarado, and Ashland Place.

[PhxSprawler]

When you say North Central Phoenix, I would say the neighborhoods of:

Roosevelt, Willo, F.Q. Story, Encanto-Palmcroft, Alvarado, and Ashland Place.


I was thinking more of the central corridor neighborhood (John McCain's old hood) as one being consistently good, but I certainly won't argue with you on the others. :)

[miketoronto]

For Toronto it would be the whole North Central Inner City areas. This includes Toronto most posh neighbourhood, Rosedale, as well as. Moore Park, The Avenue Road corridor, Forest Hill, Yonge-Eglinton, Leaside, and Lawrence Park. All these neighbourhoods have retained very posh standing, for almost 100 years now in most cases.

While not as posh, I would say neighbourhoods which were more middle class and stable that did not decline are places like the eastern part of the inner city near Danforth Ave, and the western part like Bloor West Village. These areas may have gone out of a favour for a while as newer developments took some of the shine away from them. But they never declined into vacant neighbourhoods or anything, and were basically just home to middle class families(usually the old timer parents stayed, while their newly married kids flocked to the shiny new suburbs). These neighbourhoods now however are becoming way to expensive and an interesting thing that is happening is a large number of the kids born in the suburbs from parents who use to live in these old hoods, are now moving back to these old hoods to their parents stomping grounds. My sisters are one of them, moving within blocks of where my dad use to live in the inner city before moving to the suburbs to raise us. And a number of neighbours in our hood have seen the same thing happen with their kids moving back to the inner city areas they came from. So those hoods I would say stayed stable and just where not as posh till now.



ROSEDALE, Toronto.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2224/2119118779_641f12327e.jpg?v=0
Photo thanks to ettml on flickr.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/2084733618_ec45685301.jpg?v=0
Photo thanks to ettml on flickr.


THE DANFORTH, Toronto.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1341/630727443_86f35c9ee1.jpg?v=0
Photo thanks to realosophy.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/56/150630052_1d9bb174d5.jpg?v=0
Photo thanks to t3mplar.

[rockyi]

damn, Rock Island's Highland Park looks awesome

Thanks. I love living here and the scenery changes so quickly too. A mere two minute (or less) drive brings you to this neighborhood in Rock Islands west end which I posted in the worst neighborhood thread.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/DCP_0780.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/rockyi/002_35.jpg

[DBR96A]

PITTSBURGH'S BEST NEIGHBORHOODS

LUXURY AND AMBIENCE:
- Shadyside
- Squirrel Hill
- South Side

LUXURY:
- Point Breeze
- Washington's Landing
- Mount Washington
- Mexican War Streets (subsection of the North Side)

AMBIENCE:
- East Liberty
- Regent Square
- Bloomfield
- Oakland
- Lawrenceville
- Strip District

[Derek]

I was thinking it was Rancho Bernardo in San Diego, until last night when a sixteen year old was randomly stabbed while skateboarding down the street two blocks from the house where I grew up.

[Crawford]

The stereotypical "best" neighborhoods in each borough:

Manhattan: Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Sutton Place, Gramercy, Soho, Tribeca, Far West Village, North Village around Fifth Ave/University Place

Bronx: Riverdale, Country Club, Pelham Gardens

Queens: Douglaston, Forest Hills Gardens, Malba

Brooklyn: Brooklyn Heights, Sephardic Jewish part of Gravesend (does it have a name?), Mill Basin, Manhattan Beach

Staten Island: Todt Hill, Tottenville

[edluva]

Do you have to make everything about L.A. a sarcastic joke? :rolleyes: Your consistently cynical attitude about L.A. proves that you yourself are a sarcastic joke.

i knew it was a matter of time before some notoriously shallow-minded angeleno took offense to my light-hearted sarcasm. you were at the top of my knee-jerk forumer list. congrats.

[Xelebes]

Edmonton:

Glenora

[i_am_hydrogen]

For Chicago, it would be the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and East Lakeview. All these neighborhoods were originally intended and settled by the upper classes and have remained so throughout Chicago's history. No gentrification has been needed because, as a whole, the areas have never been in decline.

That may be the case only for the Gold Coast. Lincoln Park, for example, was once a heavily Puerto Rican neighborhood before it was gentrified.

[OfCourse]

Austin was already done, so I'll do Harlingen...

Harlingen: Treasure Hills, Stuart Place, Haverford, Parkwood, Cardinal Terrace, Citrus Terrace, Washington Heights

[Swinefeld]

Philadelphia
-Chestnut Hill
-Logan Square
-Overbrook Farms
-Rittenhouse Square
-Roxborough
-Wynnfield Heights
-Somerset
-Girard Estates

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my mind.
Good starter. Here's some more...
-Fairmount
-Packer Park
-University City
-Powelton Village
-Garden Court
-Spruce Hill
-Woodland Terrace
-West Mount Airy
-Bridesburg
-Queen Village
-Bustleton
-Fox Chase

[tjh1]

FORT WORTH

The Westside is the general home to the Fort Worth elite. Neighborhoods include:

Westover Hills
Rivercrest
Ridglea
Monticello

Other affluent neighborhoods include:

Colonial
Park Hill
Mira Vista

[Pinion]

Vancouver:
Shaugnessy, Kitsilano, Point Grey, University Area, Marine Drive, Southlands

SW Marine only. SE is pretty ghetto (for Vancouver).

Seems kind unfair to not include West Van (technically a suburb due to water separation) when it's closer to downtown than most of those areas too.

[VivaLFuego]

For Chicago, it would be the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and East Lakeview. All these neighborhoods were originally intended and settled by the upper classes and have remained so throughout Chicago's history. No gentrification has been needed because, as a whole, the areas have never been in decline.

Wrong, all the way around (though the Lakeview shoreline only has been nice since the 20s). Even Gold Coast circa mid-century was full of tenements and the stately rowhouses had been subdivided into flophouses. Some of the old transient hotels still survive, even.
Follwing census tract maps are buy "quintile": there are 5 shades each representing a 20% band of median household income (the darkest colors are the richest 20% of census tracts, the lightest are the poorest 20% of census tracts).

~1950 (the L map isn't exact, its actually an L network circa 1951 with data from 1950, but whatever ):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2216879394_fdab7cd247_o.jpg


2000:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2153/2216879390_35f50bf5d5_o.jpg

The areas that jump out as consistently top income are the far southwest side (Beverly, Ashburn and Mt. Greenwood), the Clearing neighborhood west of Midway, and the far Northwest Side (Edgebrook, Norwood Park, North Park). EDIT: looks like Roscoe Village, North Center, St. Bens have been pretty stably higher income, as well.

This shows which areas have majorly declined, too. Austin, East Rogers Park, and the far South Side (neighborhoods like South Shore, Roseland) used to be the nice parts of town.

The areas that have gentrified....well the change speaks for itself. I had never previously thought of Hegewisch as a gentrified neighborhood until this study :D

[Reverberation]

Houston, in or near the inner loop:

Inside Loop:

River Oaks (huge area of mansions) - old money
West University - seems to be the neighborhood of choice for the doctors and lawyers (hmmm)
Heights (large historic area)
East side of of Bellaire
Timbergrove - a favorite of mine, although sketchy but improving areas are nearby
Montrose (not entirely consistent but always improving, and Houston's largest gay neighborhood)

Near the Loop but just outside:

Oak Forest and Garden Oaks - popular, great neighborhoods (some sketchy areas nearby)
Meyerland (VERY nice)
Bellaire close to the Loop
Tanglewood - next to the Galleria, with possibly the largest lot sizes in the city (many are about an acre)
Inner Memorial area
And my favorite: Willowbrook, where I grew up...just outside the loop off of Willowbend and Post Oak. After a decline in the 80s real estate bust, this
50's enclave has made a great comeback. I plan to move back to Willowbrook in 2010.

I know there are more, but the above neighborhoods come to mind at the moment.



Tanglewood
Heights

Outside of the loop, I would also include anything north of Westheimer and south of the Katy Freeway. In the Bay Area, Nassau Bay and Taylor Lake Village are very nice and have some nice older homes from the 60's and 70's.

[bryson662001]

Good starter. Here's some more...
-Fairmount
-Packer Park
-University City
-Powelton Village
-Garden Court
-Spruce Hill
-Woodland Terrace
-West Mount Airy
-Bridesburg
-Queen Village
-Bustleton
-Fox Chase

"Best" doesn't neccessarily mean everyplace that isn't bad. Let's go back to Rittenhouse Square and Chestnut Hill and throw in Society Hill.

[pj3000]

PITTSBURGH'S BEST NEIGHBORHOODS

LUXURY AND AMBIENCE:
- Shadyside
- Squirrel Hill
- South Side

LUXURY:
- Point Breeze
- Washington's Landing
- Mount Washington
- Mexican War Streets (subsection of the North Side)

AMBIENCE:
- East Liberty
- Regent Square
- Bloomfield
- Oakland
- Lawrenceville
- Strip District

Let's see, the thread topic is a city's consistently good neighborhoods...

You list East Liberty, Lawrenceville, Strip District, Oakland, Mt. Washington, and Mexican War Streets among those. Are you kidding? I would not call any of those consistently good. And actually, you can throw the South Side in there as well. There are parts of each of those neighborhoods that can be considered consistently good.

Ahh, the ambience of East Liberty... I know that things are improving, but come on.

[TimCity2000]

Birmingham (city limits only):

Crestwood
Forest Park
Highland Ave.
Avondale
Crestline

[bryson662001]

"Best" doesn't neccessarily mean everyplace that isn't bad. Let's go back to Rittenhouse Square and Chestnut Hill and throw in Society Hill.

My bad......the thread title is "good", not "best" so your selections will pass more or less.

[OhioGuy]

Outside of the loop, I would also include anything north of Westheimer and south of the Katy Freeway.

I agree. I always use to enjoy driving east on Briar Forest from just east of Gessner until it connected with Memorial Drive and then continuing on Memorial Drive east to the loop. The beautiful homes & wonderful trees in the area always made the drive a *very* pleasant one.

But having said that, my favorite two residential areas of Houston are West University and probably Upper Kirby. Of course River Oaks is the uber wealthy area, but I just liked the feel particularly of West University. It's within reasonable driving distance of everything: downtown, Midtown, Uptown, Herman Park, the Medical Center, Museum District, Montrose, The Galleria, Memorial Park, etc. Plus the lightrail isn't too far away either.

[LivingIn622]

Wrong, all the way around (though the Lakeview shoreline only has been nice since the 20s). Even Gold Coast circa mid-century was full of tenements and the stately rowhouses had been subdivided into flophouses. Some of the old transient hotels still survive, even.
Follwing census tract maps are buy "quintile": there are 5 shades each representing a 20% band of median household income (the darkest colors are the richest 20% of census tracts, the lightest are the poorest 20% of census tracts).

~1950 (the L map isn't exact, its actually an L network circa 1951 with data from 1950, but whatever ):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2216879394_fdab7cd247_o.jpg


2000:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2153/2216879390_35f50bf5d5_o.jpg

The areas that jump out as consistently top income are the far southwest side (Beverly, Ashburn and Mt. Greenwood), the Clearing neighborhood west of Midway, and the far Northwest Side (Edgebrook, Norwood Park, North Park). EDIT: looks like Roscoe Village, North Center, St. Bens have been pretty stably higher income, as well.

This shows which areas have majorly declined, too. Austin, East Rogers Park, and the far South Side (neighborhoods like South Shore, Roseland) used to be the nice parts of town.

The areas that have gentrified....well the change speaks for itself. I had never previously thought of Hegewisch as a gentrified neighborhood until this study :D

Chicago has gotten poorer over the years, but at least downtown got wealthier.:)

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Chicago has gotten poorer over the years, but at least downtown got wealthier.:)

Well, keep in mind the differences in population density too. There's a smaller land area with the darkest shading now but it's the more densely populated part of town.