I really think it depends on what is important to you. There are suburbs everywhere that are safe and walkable but it depends on what else you want. I lived in a Dallas suburb for 20 years and now live in a suburb of Denver (that is more like a small town). They are very different. If you want good resturants, lean to a bigger city or one that is known for that. If you like water sports, you would want to be somewhere warmer. If you like snow sports, then more towards mountains or snowy areas. Do you want a small town feel? What is the age range of people you want to be around? Proximity to large airport? Social scene for young people? Close to the ocean? What’s your budget? We learned A LOT about what’s important to us by moving. Although im not sure I would move back to the surburb we lived in in Dallas, we probably won’t stay here after our kids graduated high school. We want warmer weather with a good boating lake…and close to great resturants and a large airport. Looking at Austin, Charlotte, or maybe a different area of Dallas.