Finding a new home is as much about finding the right neighborhood as it is about finding the right house. Maybe more. After all, you can make direct improvements to your house- add rooms, change windows, even tear the whole thing down and start over again. But making changes to your neighborhood is a much more difficult endeavor.
So while you are driving around looking at different houses, pay attention to the neighborhood. What do you see? What types of activities seem common? Are people out tending lawns and gardens? Are kids biking and skating around? Is anyone shooting hoops at the basketball court?
Do your best to try to find a home in a neighborhood where the neighbors are doing the types of activities you’ll wish to do.
Figure out what you like in a neighborhood. Are you hoping for active and chatty neighbors and noisy kids? Or do you want seclusion and the quiet of your own abode?
For us, we are seeking out an active family-friendly place, where we and our kids can get to know the neighbors. So when we drive through a neighborhood, like the one we are moving to, and see kids on roller skates and families working on the front lawn, and lots of homes with basketball hoops- we know we are seeing good signs that this is a place where we will thrive.
You are buying a home to live in for many years- maybe decades. Make sure it is situated in a neighborhood you like.