Into the wild

I was born and raised in suburbia: My family lived in tidy little enclaves in Texas, England, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, again, and, finally, California.

My parents—themselves both raised on myriad military bases—had decided at some point that the suburbs were a great place to raise a family: safe and quiet and comfortable.

It's probably no surprise that, as a rebellious 18-year-old, I equated “comfortable” with “boring” and fled those cul-de-sacs and manicured green lawns in search of something more exciting.

But you can't really leave behind that which shaped you. And now, as an adult, I have mostly fond memories of the neighborhoods I once called home.

And it's not just nostalgia. The suburbs can't (and shouldn't) be reduced to a simple set of stereotypes that depict them as homogenous and idyllic safety zones. Rather, each is a unique community with its own culture, its own customs, its own history.

Which brings us to SN&R's second annual Best of the Burbs issue for which our writers set out to explore the wilds of the region's outer suburban communities, from Roseville, Rocklin and Granite Bay to Carmichael and Fair Oaks, Folsom and El Dorado Hills, and Elk Grove.

It turned into a treasure hunt of sorts as we trekked in to find the best restaurants, shops, parks and more.

The resulting issue, which includes those picks as well as the results of our readers' ballot, maps out a world rich in culture, diversity and adventure.

In other words, a place that's not so boring after all.