I'd probably say the dodgy suburb. Purely because if I can afford 1 mil on a house, I can send my children to private schools out of the area. I'd also probably socialise with parents outside that area, whereas I'd hate to be the lower class in a high end area and have my children struggle in the schools because they couldn't afford to go skiing in the swiss alps over the holidays (and yes this does happen here in aus). Yes I might not be able to walk down the street but I could always drive a few blocks to a nice area and walk there LOL! For me its all about whats best for my family. And if I had a 1 mil house I could probably eventually sell it to live in a more ideal suburb anyway.