Finding the Perfect Neighborhood

This week, we're talking neighbors, and you can't have neighbors without neighborhoods. So let's take a look at what comes with moving into a new neighborhood.

Say you find your perfect house. The one that has everything on your personal list of must-haves, including some pretty impossible to find items like a wood-burning fireplace in the master bathroom, but it turns out that it is in a neighborhood that you just can't stand. Does the house alone make it worth living some place you don't really want to spend time?

For some people the answer might be yes - the house is enough to keep them happy. More often than not, though, the community you are going to live in is an important consideration. The first step in fitting in to your new neighborhood starts with your house hunt. Create a list of must-have features for your neighborhood that are going to make you love your home and your community even more than you expected you would. Coming up with this list involves a fair amount of self-reflection. If you are, for example, someone who really can't live without their daily running fix, maybe a home in a heavily trafficked area isn't going to make you as happy as one that has access to quieter trails. Folks who work long hours, even if they love cooking, may want to live near to restaurants they love and won't tire of, even if they end up going to them over and over again.

Taking a close look at where you live now - and what you don't like about it - will also help to develop that list. If you really hate the fact, for example, that it is next to impossible to get high quality groceries without driving for 20 minutes, put a high-end market on your list of neighborhood must-haves.

If you are looking at a neighborhood you don't know all that well, visit it frequently while you are doing a search. Make sure to stop by during both the daytime and nighttime to see how things stack up at different times of day. Check it out thoroughly for signs of decline, which might include an overabundance of "For Rent" signs or a string of abandoned buildings. And, talk to as many people as are willing to chat with a complete stranger quizzing them about their life in that area. If they seem like people you would want to know, and they love living there, it might make you feel even more confident about the decision to move there.

Local papers, even the tiny neighborhood papers, are filled with great information about neighborhood street fairs, special events at neighborhood pubs and restaurants and new businesses that are opening in the area. All of these area great opportunities to meet new people, learn about what is happening in the area and deepening your connection to your new place.

There's a whole range of practical matters to consider, too, like school districts and access to key transportation routes and crime statistics. These, too, are important considerations that merit study. But they just aren't as much fun to think about as things like counting the number of jazz clubs that are within biking range of the area you want to live in.

Written for National Association of Realtors®

© 2009 All Rights Reserved.