So you need to move your family – but how do you know what the best neighborhoods are in the area you’ve chosen? It can be difficult to know where your family would be able to build a home, especially if you’re moving states away. Thankfully, there are a few tips we can give you to help in your search.
Tips to Finding the Best Neighborhood:
- Prioritize what you really want in a location. Having a list of what are needs, and what are wants, can really help you evaluate whether a home is in the best neighborhood for you.
- Look up tax rates in the area you’re considering. One neighborhood could be only 5 minutes difference from another, but the tax rates can change dramatically.
- If you have kids, look at the school system. Knowing that your kids have a great school to go to in the area can drastically change how you view a possible home. And the quality of school districts can vary greatly by moving just a few miles. If a school district is large, check out the houses both in the heart of it and on the edges – sometimes a great house can be on the outskirts of the school district, keeping your child in a great school but often cutting the price of the home.
- Look at your commute. Drive time and access to where you will be regularly is definitely something to consider when you’re picking the best neighborhood for your daily life.
- Safety is key. And something that can be hard to determine if you’re not from the area. You can use online sources to check how safe an neighborhood is, such as com.
- What’s the culture like? If possible, go walk around the neighborhood! See how people interact with each other. How the streets feel. Are there other families with kids? Do the houses look well kept? What’s nearby?
- Use travel sites! Things like TripAdvisor can be a great tool to help you figure out where things are that you’d enjoy living near.
Hopefully these tips will help you get started in finding the best neighborhood for your new home! And once you find that perfect new place, give us a call. We’re faith-based and family-oriented, and we’ll work to get the best for your family no matter your situation. Because we value what you do.
Best,
Audrey
The Christian Mortgage Mom
