HomeFit Issue 1- Barbara Haggerty HomeFit Issue 1- Barbara Haggerty | Page 6

How to Choose the Perfect
Neighborhood
Whether you’re a first-time
homebuyer or getting ready to
sell your house and upgrade to a
larger property, choosing the right
neighborhood to move into should
be your first consideration.
While different people may seek
various amenities and aesthetics as
part of their neighborhood search,
there are certain factors everyone
should consider before making a
final decision on where to move.

Important Factors
Before you move into a particular
locale, you should check the
crime stats of the neighborhood.
This can be done online using
various websites that breakdown
this critical information by zip
code. In some jurisdictions, local
police stations can give you this
data. Suffice it to say, even if a
neighborhood looks beautiful on
the outside and there are plenty
of houses to choose from, if you
find that burglaries and car theft
is skyrocketing there, it’s time to
move on.
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If you have children, or are
planning to, the quality of a
prospective neighborhood’s
schools should be a major factor
in making your choice. You
can contact the local school
board in the neighborhood’s
jurisdiction and obtain the latest
stats on how the average student
in the neighborhood scores
on national proficiency tests.
You can then compare them
to scores of students in other
areas. This stat often mirrors
the quality and effectiveness of
education available in a particular
neighborhood.

Education Budget
You can also get an idea of
the quality of education in a
neighborhood by comparing the
budget allotted by local officials to
the area compared to other areas.
Another source of information
is the education section of
community newspapers covering
the neighborhood. It wouldn’t
hurt to look them up online and

even give the education reporter
a call. You’d be surprised how
many of them will be glad to give
you their opinions of the state of
education in the area they cover.
Finally, you can contact the local
Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
and get both the pros and cons of
the education system in the area.
Members of this organization also
can tell you if the schools have
sufficient room, or if they are
overcrowded.

Traffic and Future
Development
When choosing a new
neighborhood, quality-of-life
issues such as traffic and potential
crowding have become important
factors in making a decision. Let’s
face it, no matter how pristine a
neighborhood is, if you have to sit
in gridlock for a significant amount
of time before you can reach
your front door, it might not be
the area for you. The easiest way
to discover the traffic volume in
a neighborhood is to get in your