Choosing the Right Neighborhood for Your New Home

Good neighbors become like extended family while bad ones can make your life a living hell making finding the right neighborhood to build your new home very important.  The best way to find the perfect location for you and your family is to do a lot of research before purchasing.

Urban, Suburban or Rural

Start by deciding if you want to live in an urban area or one more on the outskirts.  Urban areas often provide public transportation and reduce the need to own your own cars but are often smaller and more expensive than living in a suburban or rural area.  Suburban locations provide larger yards, houses and generally smaller mortgage payments and rural areas are much more inexpensive but definitely require owning your own transportation.  It’s wise to consider all costs including the costs of transportation and lack of being as close to things like the grocery store, schools and medical help.

Picking a Home Type

Once you decide where you want to live, it’s time to think about if you want a standalone home, condo, patio home or things like a garage or extra storage building.  Condos and attached homes are more common in the city areas whereas the other options are more often available in suburban or rural areas.

Getting the Details

Drive around the area you are considering once you’ve made the decision on location and size.  Look at the neighborhoods and see what appeals to you.  If you need, involve a real estate agent in the search to help provide you with research on the areas.  Another option is to do some Internet research, looking for crime rates, school performances, home price evaluations, traffic count and any other details that are important to you.  Use Google Maps to get a good overview of the entire area.  You can also check out sites such as CriminalJusticeUSA.com and NeighborhoodScout.com for more details on the neighborhoods. 

Visit the Location More than Once

If you like a location, visit it several times.  Talk to the locals and ask questions about what it’s like to live in the area and if there are any known problems.  If there’s an HOA, ask for details about how it handles issues and does its job.  Visit at different times of the day.  A location that looks wonderful during the day might be completely different at night or another time.  Talk to the potential neighbors that surround the location you are considering, after all these are the people you will be living closest too.

Scout the Neighborhood

Drive around the neighborhood, looking at the condition of the houses and keep an eye out for sale, sale pending or sold signs.  A lot of one or the other is an indication of the direction of the neighborhood.  Check the local home valuations and sales over the past year or two for a good sign of which way the neighborhood is progressing.

Check the Amenities

Look to see what amenities are close or in the neighborhood such as shopping, gas, schools, parks, sidewalks or any of the things that are important to you and your family.  You might also want to find out about any future construction in the area that can be disruptive to your living and decide if it’s something you are willing to live with.  Another thing to consider is the businesses or public use areas you will be living close to, such as if there’s a local bar close and you don’t want to deal with late night hours issues or the extra traffic and noise a stadium will cause.  All of these are things to consider before building a home in the location.

Demographics Does Make a Difference

A final thing to look at is the people who live in the neighborhood.  If you are a young couple, you might want to live in a younger neighborhood where you have something in common with your neighbors for bonding.  The same goes for those with kids, might want a neighborhood with more children or older people might consider a community with older people or even a retirement community.  All of this helps to create a better quality of living for you and your family.

Look at your options when picking out the neighborhood for your new home.  A little research ahead is going to save you many headaches in the end and give you the perfect location to live.

Author Information
Martin Alexander is an independent urban development researcher. He has been extensively involved in townhome community planning and enjoys sharing his insights on various blogs. Visit the website of Mahogany in Calgary to find out more about townhome communities.