Archives: 2008 June

I had the good fortune to first move to Chicago in 1972 when the city was on the cusp of its rebirth. It was an exciting time to be a young advertising account executive in one of the world’s great cities that was about to reclaim the attention of the country as a dazzling jewel [...]

West Suburban Chicago
View Larger Map of Higley1000 neighborhoods in West Suburban Chicago
The West Suburban cluster of neighborhoods is centered on Oak Brook and Hinsdale. They are the odd couple of Chicago’s suburbs. Hinsdale (the Felix Unger of the two) is older, gracious and stately. Hinsdale’s lovely tree lined streets have been the site of [...]

The Barrington Area
View Larger Map Higley 1000 Neighborhoods in the Barrington area
One could almost consider the Barrington Area as an annex to the North Shore. New upscale development was blocked to the north along the lakefront by downscale North Chicago and Waukegan, therefore it moved west. The Barrington area (as I have defined it) stretches [...]

An Overview of the Metro Area
Birmingham has indeed come a long way in its relatively brief history. Born in the aftermath of the Civil War (1871), the city quickly burgeoned into the iron and steel industry’s “Pittsburgh of the South” by the early 20th Century. The city’s explosive growth in its first forty years earned [...]

With good reason, Tucsonans love to sneer at Phoenix: too big, too ugly and with too much out of control growth and the concomitant dreadful traffic problems. (oh yes, and too Conservative too!). However, as the city of Tucson has recently passed the 500,000 population mark and the county is approaching a million residents, Tucson [...]

The wealthiest 100 neighborhoods in the United States have similar racial make-up as the Higley 1000. There was a slightly higher percentage of Non-Hispanic Whites (91.5%) and significantly fewer Asian-Americans and African-Americans than in the larger list. Hispanics and “Others” were about as well represented in the 57,362 households found in these Elite 100 neighborhoods.
Asian-Americans [...]

For those of you who are interested in looking at how the neighborhoods in your metro area are ranked in the Higley 1000……… CLICK HERE to go directly to the article Neighborhood Summary by Metro Area……. or click on the link to the right in the Navigation box entitled Neighborhood Summary by Metro Area.
You can [...]

There is nothing like a road trip to renew my familiarity with some of Indianapolis’ old neighborhoods and visit the never-ending construction of nouveau riche mansions in Carmel and Clay Township. As of this posting, there are six Higley 1000 neighborhoods with a total of 3,841 households in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area (SMSA).
Indianapolis’ best [...]

In many ways Grosse Pointe is emblematic of the racial divide that cleaves Detroit. Long an icon of wealth and privilege, it’s once unrivaled and unquestioned position at the center of upper class Detroit society, has slowly drained away to the point that it is a mere island of affluence, albeit a lovely one of [...]

Locust Valley-Oyster Bay
View Larger Map of Higley 1000 neighborhoods in Locust Valley and Oyster Bay
The area I call Locust Valley-Oyster Bay evokes the sylvan past of the Gold Coast much more richly than the more densely populated Great Neck. The zoning requirements of these contiguous “golf villages” insure large lots surround the large homes. Many [...]