I think.
Anyway, our little Stumptown is #6 on Business Week’s list of — take a depth breath — “the 25 best and most affordable suburbs of the largest cities in the U.S.”
Hard to tell exactly what the selection criteria might be for that list, but it seems to be a combo of crime rate, school performance, and housing cost.
Even so, it is clear that Matthews’ biggest asset is its relatively low cost of housing. Certainly few other burbs check in with a median housing price of $205,000; Santa Clarita is triple that at $619K and is #19 on the BW list.
Yet local government seems bent on erasing that advantage with more mandates on builders, high-density “transit oriented” development, and — coming soon — some sort of real estate transfer tax or impact fee.
So enjoy it while it lasts, Stumpers. Your elected officials on are the job.
