"picket fence filled suburban neighborhood"
There is a big difference between suburban and small-town. I think you should stick with a small town instead of something next to a big city.
1) Fairfield, Iowa. Once the home of Parson's College, now the home of Marharishi University, Fairfield still has the small-town thing down cold. The nearest 'big city' is Ottumwa, (with about 25,000 people), about a half-hour away. The kids probably don't get to Ottumwa more than once or twice a year.
2) Iowa City/Coralville, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa. Coralville is the place with the stripmalls, Iowa City the place with the picket fences. The closest city is Des Moines, about an hour drive. Picturesque city, highly educated population. (I think it's statistically the most educated small town in the USA).
3) Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. This was a vacation town for the rich from the mid-1800s to the 1930s. Now it's a vacation and outdoor recreation town for the rest of us. Very pretty town with Victorian mansions, 47 lakes and one swamp. Population about 12,000 people, about half-way between Madison and Milwaukee, but not that close to either.
4) LaCross, Wisconsin. This is a larger city, about 50,000, on the upper Mississippi River on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota. There's lots of fly fishing and bass fishing here. It's at the beginnin of the driftless area (where the glaciers didn't come). Very pretty, typically upper midwestern (people are informed and involved with their communities).
5) Stillwater, Minnesota. A town of reasonably-priced Victorian homes (historical preservation is big here) surrounded by farms and a large recreational area (fishing, hiking cross-country and downhill skiing), on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Very pretty area, very pretty town. Downtown is botiques and excellent (expensive) restaurants. There's a winery nearby. Population 16,000. Nearest city, the Twin Cities, about 30 minutes down the interstate.
6) Northfield,Minnesota. Home of two colleges, one progressive and one Lutheran. Population is about 15,000 (plus about 5,000 college students). Picturesque, progressive with an art community, good schools but in many ways, very small town. Northfield is about 35 miles south of the Twin Cities
7) Savage, Minnesota. You need this just for the name. Savage's greatest claim to fame is it was the home of Dan Patch, the greatest racehorse of the early 20th century. Population around 23,000. Prosperous. About 35 miles from the Twin Cities. Many people work in Minneapolis or St. Paul and live in Savage. There are snowmobile trails inside the city, but you can't park you car on the streets overnight.
8) Ottumwa, Iowa. A town of about 25,000 people (in the 1970s it had closer to 35,000) surrounded by corn and soybean fields. The closest city is Des Moines, about 90 miles to the northwest. Contains a meatpacking plant, other factories and a non-navigable river. Is home of Indian River Community College. Once people leave, they don't tend to return home. One nearby town, Dahlonega is still on the map although it hasn't exsisted in any form what-so-ever for more than 50 years. It's kinda strange, with weird camera angles and strange background music. It's not just where Radar O'Riley is from (MASH) but where Edna Feber (Show Boat, Giant, Cimarron – come on – you guys – you should know your award willing novelists and playwrights) spent much of her childhood.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
