Tyron

Well, I'm rather partial to Alaska.
1) Four seasons, winter, break-up, forest fire and hunting.
2) Ever hear of Sitka Spruce?
3) Google alaska photos, nuff said.
4) Anchorage
5) Never been back east, so can't comment.

It depends on how "suburban" you're talking but I have to give you this . .

1) It has to have four seasons - Western North Carolina/Asheville
2) we love big trees - Western North Carolina/Asheville
3) beautiful surroundings - Western North Carolina/Asheville
4) we are more suburbian people - Western North Carolina/Asheville
5) all places are an option, but the east coast is a plus - Western North Carolina/Asheville

We have all four seasons and for the most part ... None of them are extreme on average!

We have BIG trees.... we have little trees.. and we have all trees in between...

IMHO it's one of the most BEAUTIFUL places on the planet. I've not been to ALL of them (yet) but I haven't found one I like better yet...

I can be in the heart of down-town doing the "City Thang" or in 20 minutes be out in the country getting my COUNTRY groove on!

We're as East Coast as can be unless you get ON the coast... then it's HOT and humid...

Check out Asheville, NC... I don't live in Asheville (Waynesville actually) but as far as "Big" cities it's a great one!!

No matter what place you find, it will have pluses and minuses. For your first demand, I'd say Northern California would have lots of benefits. Cleaner air, mountains, ocean, Sequoia trees, lakes, and various weather year 'round.

Suburban means what? Home Depot, Fedex, a decent supermarket chain and a multiplex movie theater? hehe Almost any town has those, so it comes down to how far would you have to travel to get to these, and what is traffic like.

If money were no object, my dreams range from Switzerland to the island of Morea. I love snow, and I love lagoons. The two are mutually exclusive. I guess I'd have to have two homes, a private jet, and an internet connection.

I like how you think Marc! If "money were no object" I'd probably have a couple of places as well.... One place here in the Mtns of NC and the other in......
FIJI

hopefully after i propose and get married, ill be able to go to fiji for our honeymoon. still talking the "ol' ball and chain" into it. but i think im starting to wear her down. ad big al you are like the fourth person who has suggested asheville. between asheville and PA i dont know. i dont think ill go to Northern Cal though because i dont think my girl would go for that.

Have you priced Fiji yet? OMG!! The wife and I priced it because we'd like to go there in a couple of years. I don't know if it's just because of the TYPE of place I want to go or if ALL of Fiji is that steep but I'm going to have to either WIN the lottery or save for 20 years for the prices I found.

Asheville (and the surrounding 100 miles) is a GREAT mix of Urbanism (as urban as you want) and City life.

it was more like i watched a few videos on youtube and went to see how much a plane ticket was, then said "i want to go to fiji for my honeymoon"

You know, since you are in Houston, you might simply drive up to Austin for a look. It's a beautiful city, has some hills, some lakes, and doesn't suffer from humidity as much. Lots of culture, plenty of places to see and hear. While there, plan on dining at "Oasis", a famous restaurant that purportedly includes a view of the largest lake in Texas (65 miles long). I've been there several times, and love it.

thanks Marc, will do.

Hey marc the Oasis rocks it at sunset. Austin is a beautiful clean and fun city to live in. I have lived near Asheville in Sylva shich is great also. of those two i would choose Austin. I currently live near charlotte, in the country 30 mins form uptown. it is pretty nice here and the oak trees get large. hey marc, have you seen the bats fly out of the congress street bridge in austin, that is a sight?

Midnight it's cool you lived in Sylva. I go over there a couple of times a week because my company has an office over there.