IDEAL NEIGHBORHOOD
When starting to search for the ideal neighborhood, begin by analyzing yourself. Think about what you desire and put the must-haves at the top and the like-to-haves at the bottom of the list. Here are some considerations to get you started.
CONSIDERATIONS
Profile Your Ideal Neighborhood
- School System, Parks, Community Centers. If you have children or are planning to have children anytime soon, the first thing to do when looking at a neighborhood is to research the school system. Even if you’re single, living in an area with a much sought-after school system raises your property value. If you have kids, you’ll also want to live close to parks and community centers.
- Type of Home. Are you interested in a single-family home or an apartment, townhouse or co-op?
- Proximity to Work. How far are you willing to commute? Do you plan to drive, walk or take mass transit to work? Do you have a car or would you be willing to get one?
- Historic Neighborhood or a New Development. Historic neighborhoods have tons of character, but often require lots of repair work and are governed by community associations with strict standards. Newer developments have more modern features, but are typically far from the city center.
- Community Features. Is there anything you currently wish you had access to? What are some things that you would not want to go without such as access to grocery stores, retail, dry cleaning and etc.? Would you like to be within walking distance of restaurants and bars?
- Things to Avoid. Sometimes its easy to miss things that can create annoyances or hassles. Is there a freeway or train traffic nearby? Or how about Airports and aircraft? If you can’t stand late-night noise, you’ll probably want to steer clear of the college area or an area with a lively bar scene.
Historic neighborhoods have tons of character, but often require lots of repair work and are governed by community associations with strict standards. Newer developments have more modern features, but are typically far from the city center.
Is there anything you currently wish you had access to? What are some things that you would not want to go without such as access to grocery stores, retail, dry cleaning and etc.? Would you like to be within walking distance of restaurants and bars?
Identify the Area
If you’re moving within the same city, you may already know the various neighborhoods. Choose the ones that best match your list of wants. If you’re moving to a new city, you’ll have to do more research. Start by picking a part of town to search in. For instance, if your job is on the west side of town, start there. In a really large city, narrow it down to a few-block radius, say, SoHo in New York City. This will make your search more focused.
