Grew up there, sadly. Safe, lots of kids around, good schools -- but utterly boring. Since excitement is one of the very few things I care about in life, that wasn't a good tradeoff.
I grew up in the burbs, and moved to the city (Saint Paul, MN) when I was 14. Been living in Saint Paul up until I bought a house in the burbs last year. I'm getting married, I turned 31, I have a stressful and busy career, and I was honestly tired of living in the city. I totally agree, that I LOVED the excitement of the city, the unique food, the awesome bars, tons of people my age. All of that was awesome. But after awhile it became the parking, the snow emergencies, the shitty neighbors, the barking dogs, small expensive apartments, not enough creative space, etc. So far, I'm loving my house in the burbs, though I chose a location that is still VERY close to the city as far as drives go, so I'm only a few minutes away. I'm loving the quiet, the nice neighbors, the space, having a yard... it's really nice. But 5 years ago I was still adamant against never moving to the burbs. But here I am and loving it. Things change. Not for everyone, obviously, but for some. I just got tired of it all. Plus, I can still drive there whenever I want. :)
I think if I was married, possibly thinking about kids, etc., I would have a way different opinion of the suburbs. I mean, I grew up there for a reason. My parents were urbanites, for a lot of the same reasons as you, it sounds like. But when I was born they decided to get out.