Suburbs are highly subsidized.
The quality of life only seems to outcompete cities because the quality of life in cities is lowered by the car centric culture.
If you want to know how good the QoL in a city can be, you need to visit a European city that is not car centric.
If you want to know how good the QoL in a city can be, you need to visit a European city that is not car centric.