The more I see of new-style West coast suburbs, and the more I read about urban planning, the more I think I grew up in a pretty decent suburb.

1) It has sidewalks.
2) It is small, dense, and mixed-use enough that one could actually walk to things. (Most people don't because it's America, but you *can*). The high school is in the middle of town within decent walking distance of the library, a movie rental place (this may be gone now, though, I can't remember), a pizza place (possibly ditto, but Friendly's is still there), most of my friends' houses, etc. From my parents' house, one can easily walk to the train station, the post office, and a variety of stores including, until recently, a full-service grocery store.
3) There is actual public transit, in the form of buses and trains to New York City and a little local bus so old people could live car-free. (I also discovered about a decade too late that you can take the regional bus to the mall.)
4) None of those surreal country club-ish apartment complexes with gatehouses and restricted access.
5) It housed the entire spectrum of the middle class, so you knew some people whose parents had ample resources and some for whom money was a real struggle. Thus, you went to college with a lot more of a clue than the rich kids from [wealthy suburb names omitted to protect the clueless].
6) No unfriendly, land-wasting McMansions.

On the downside, my high school was pretty pathologically f*cked up, which, in retrospect, was my real problem with the place. Can't win 'em all, but you can skip the reunion.