Choosing a new place to live is no small decision, as you have to balance a wide variety of needs with a wide range of hard realities. In some ways, this decision is more important than your decision in a house. While a person can make do with a house that is less than ideal, it doesn’t work the same way in reverse. A good home in a bad location is a complete waste of money, so it’s important to evaluate your choices carefully before you make a decision and commit to any one neighborhood. This article is meant to help you do that by giving you a shortlist of points that you should remember.
Stay Within Your Price Range
As you probably know, property values will vary a lot from time to time and place to place. The value of the same house in two different areas is likely to be quite a bit different. Of course, this isn’t usually an issue because most houses are unique to one extent or another.
Unfortunately, the best neighborhoods tend to be more expensive. Property values and home prices are higher, the cost of living tends to be higher, and goods and services within that community tend to be higher. These prices are intended to keep out those who are considered below the standards of that community.
Although this isn’t exactly fair, it is important to pick a neighborhood that doesn’t have ridiculously high property values. If you happen to be extremely rich, this won’t be an issue, but most of us will have to compromise to one extent or another.
Look For The Lowest Crime Rate
One of the first things to consider is the crime rate in a given neighborhood. This will give you a rough idea of how safe that neighborhood is likely to be. For those with children, this is a particularly important consideration. Not only do you need to worry about those who might victimize your child, but you also have to worry about the chances of your child getting in with the wrong crowd as they get older.
When you buy a home, you probably want to get something as ideal as possible. No one wants to deal with the fear of violent criminals on a daily basis. No one wants to be forced to be paranoid, forced to carry a weapon, or forced to be suspicious. While it’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for your security, a rough neighborhood forces you to be a little bit too wary.
It is relatively easy to look up crime statistics for a specific area. They won’t give you data for individual crimes and offenders, but they will give you a generalized figure to indicate the crime rate of that area. It is worth noting that these online sources are not always accurate, so we would advise that you check more than one source.
You can also get a general sense of the crime rate by looking up local news reports. Simply go to a search engine and type the name of the town followed by words like “murder,” “arson,” etc. When serious crimes occur, they usually make the news. However, local crimes are often limited to local coverage.
Think About Commuting Issues
When choosing a good location for your new home, you will also need to think about your need to go to work. Otherwise, you won’t be able to continue paying for that nice new home. Living in remote areas can be very nice, as they offer a sense of peace and tranquility that you just can’t get in the city. However, they can also cause you a lot of commuting issues.
It is important to get a place that is relatively close to your place of work. By “relatively close,” we mean that it should not take you more than one hour to drive to work. If your commute is any longer than that, the location you have chosen might not be the best. Of course, you can always try to get a transfer within your current job, and you can always choose to look for a new job. Either way, though, your goals will have to be balanced against your need to make a living.
New Neighborhood Or Old?
Most neighborhoods are dominated by either old houses or new-construction houses. Both of these types of neighborhoods have their advantages and disadvantages. For instance, older homes tend to be a lot more stylish and unique. They also tend to be a lot more durable, which is why they have lasted the test of time. Some people are under the impression that older homes were always built better, but this is only half-true.
It is true that many older homes were built to last a lot longer than modern homes. However, they did make cheap homes in the past as well. We don’t see those cheap homes from the past because most (if not all) have been demolished to make room for newer buildings.
On the other hand, newer homes tend to be much more energy-efficient. Therefore, you can reasonably assume that your electric bill will be a little bit lower when you go with one of these. Sure, new homes are sometimes mass-produced, resulting in neighborhoods where every house looks the same, but that mass-production is the result of standardization, and there are certain benefits to that kind of thing.
Newer homes are also less likely to need repair, although this will also depend on the level of maintenance that has been done. Homes can degrade in a surprisingly short time if they are not taken care of properly. Overall, we would say that older homes are a little bit better, but only if you get one that has been well-maintained.
Things To Do
When you want to settle your family in a certain place, you want to think about how much they will (or won’t) enjoy living there. Some of the most peaceful and idyllic communities can also be some of the most boring. If you have children, you can bet that they will be happier in a place where there are activities to do and places to go. For that matter, it’s also kind of nice for the adults as well.
Parks are one potential source of amusement, as are amusement parks and carnivals. Most towns will have a list of local festivals throughout the year, and these can also provide a welcome diversion. Not only does this get you out of the house, but it also gives you a chance to meet people around you and make yourself a part of the community.
Conclusion
As we said, this is not an easy decision. You will certainly need to do plenty of research in order to obtain true information. Only with true information can you evaluate a neighborhood properly. As a final note, we would remind you that there are many, many neighborhoods out there, and there is nothing wrong with being picky. Take your time and choose the best one. If our article has been helpful to you in this regard, please feel free to fill out the contact form below.
