Guide to Finding a Great Neighborhood

If you're planning to buy a house, consider it one of the most critical endeavors in your life. Finding the perfect home is no easy feat because it's not just about finding that perfect home with a bright red door and white picket fence. You should also do a thorough investigation of its' surroundings.

Researching an entire neighborhood sounds like an impossible task. Thankfully, we live in a day and age where we can get limitless resources at the click of a button. The Internet is your number one sleuthing tool. We've also composed a checklist of things you should look into in your quest for finding an ideal neighborhood.

Safety

I think everybody wants to live without worrying about someone breaking into their home or getting mugged while walking down the street. There are many websites that track and record a majority of crimes committed within a city. One of these sites is CrimeReports. This is a great resource to determine how safe the neighborhood you plan on moving into really is.

If you're planning to buy a house, consider it one of the most critical endeavors in your life. Finding the perfect home is no easy feat because it's not just about finding that perfect home with a bright red door and white picket fence. You should also do a thorough investigation of its' surroundings.

Researching an entire neighborhood sounds like an impossible task. Thankfully, we live in a day and age where we can get limitless resources at the click of a button. The Internet is your number one sleuthing tool. We've also composed a checklist of things you should look into in your quest for finding an ideal neighborhood.

Education

If you have children, you want them to have the best education available, right? But how can you be sure if they'll be getting a proper education? One way of finding out is by contacting other parents that have children enrolled in the school you're planning to enroll your child in. Talk to someone involved in the PTA, you'll get a better feel of what the aspirations are of the general public and how the faculty responds to those needs. It's also a good idea to set up meetings with your child's potential educators, and also tour the school itself.

Amenities & Other Facilities

Is there a shopping center down the street? How far is the nearest bank? Is there a hospital in the vicinity? Having all these facilities close to you will make your life a bit less complicated. You can use a review website like Yelp to find local businesses around the neighborhood and how well they rate with other locals.

If you rely on public transportation to get from Point A to Point B, check what modes of transportation are available to you and how far they are from your home. Usually, any map-based website can provide you with this information.

The Neighborhood Itself

The best way to determine if the neighborhood will suite your lifestyle is to visit it for yourself. It's advisable to visit it at least twice, and at different times of the day. A neighborhood can dramatically change from morning to evening. If you can't physically visit the neighborhood you're considering, it's possible to pay it a visit in the virtual world. StreetAdvisor offers reviews from people that live in any particular city. You can even post any questions you may have and get answers directly from the community!

Aside from your investigative powers, another great resource at your disposal is your local realtor. They know all the great spots around town, and can field most questions about the neighborhood.