How to Select the Right Neighborhood for Your Family

One of the most important decisions to make when moving your family is deciding which neighborhood to move into. Relocating can be one of the most stressful times in your adult life; this stress is felt deeply by your children as well. Making sure you move into the right area where you will all be happy is one of the top ways to make the moving process a happier and easier one. There are many factors that you should consider when looking at potential new neighborhoods, to make this decision easier for you; we have compiled a handy guide for selecting the right neighborhood for you and your family.

Neighborhood Profiling

Profiling your perfect neighborhood is the first important step. Write down a list of your must-haves when it comes to your perfect neighborhood. Decide what your priorities are, these can include things like safety and security, school districts, available amenities (such as dog parks), nearby restaurants and shops as well as traffic friendly areas. You do not want to live in an area where you have to spend most of your mornings fighting through stressful traffic just to get to work, and the kids to school, on time. Find an area where your kids can either walk, use the school bus, or you can drop them off on your way to the office. Once you know what your priorities are for where you will live next, it will make the rest of the process much simpler.

Affordability Is Key

One of the key factors in deciding where to move you and your family is affordability. With rising house prices around the country as well as the ever-increasing cost of living, finding a budget-friendly option is essential when deciding where to move. Find the sweet spot between your wants and your needs when it comes to owning or renting in your desired area and then work from there. Now that you have prioritized your must-haves from the first step in this guide, you can move onto narrowing down which neighborhoods can provide those things in a way you can afford. You don’t necessarily need to buy a home that needs work before you can move your family into it – just for the sake of affordability, and building your own home is great for some but it isn’t for everyone. Decide what type of house you are looking for and then decide on the location. Once you know where you are looking, there are plenty of Move in Ready Homes to choose from that take the headache out of moving house.

Great Schools

Most of us want to live in a neighborhood with great schools nearby. Even if you don’t have children, living near great schools has a positive impact on the value of your house. Surveys have shown that over 90% of prospective homebuyers interviewed listed school boundaries as highly important in their search for a new home.  Whilst there is no shortage of great American education, to get a comprehensive picture of a particular school district you need to look at everything from college admission rates to SAT scores. If you are serious about finding a neighborhood with great public schools, go and see them in person.

Good Walkability

If you choose to move to a larger metro area, it is important to consider how important access to public transportation will be. Finding a neighborhood that has good walkability, i.e. is within walking distance to shops and restaurants, is crucial to saving you time and money just to get basic household supplies. You could choose to move to an area where your kids can walk to school and you can walk to work during the week, and on weekends you can walk to the park or a museum or go watch a movie. This kind of convenience often costs more and these so-called “busy neighborhoods” cost more over time. For some people, this is a worthwhile added expensive, while for others it is an unnecessary one.

Neighborhood Safety

Safety and security is one of the top considerations for all families moving into a new area, regardless of whether this is your first or second home. We all want that peace of mind that we will be safe while we sleep, or that our children are safe when they are playing outside with our neighbor’s children. We want to know that we can park on the streets or having our kid’s toys on the back porch and nothing bad will happen to any of them. Before moving to your prospective area, spend some time chatting to your would-be new neighbors – ask them if they have had a security issue for the duration they have been residing in that area. Most people will be happy to share a portion of their lives with you in order to give you the peace of mind you are looking for to make this important life decision.

Healthy Ratios

Lastly, it is important to look at the ratios of the area. The ratio of home-owners versus home-renters in your desired new neighborhood plays a direct role in the house prices of that area. Home-owners, generally speaking, take more pride in the appearance of their home than renters do. This is important for the resale value in that area. If the other houses in that area have broken roof tiles, peeling paint, or even something as simple as an unkempt lawn, these will all have a direct impact on the way potential buyers see the area.  Likewise, unemployment rates in an area play an important role too – the strength of the local job market directly affects home prices so you may want to look in an area where there is above-average job growth. Look to move into an area where big employers are moving in. This can directly influence the overall perceived value of that area and can lead to your house is worth much more than its original value. If you stay in your chosen neighborhood can make you money over time, as well as tick all of your neighborhood priority boxes, you have found yourself a winner.

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