How to find the right Neighbourhood to move to

 

Whether you’re moving to the City, the suburbs or anywhere else, having a plan to find the right neighbourhood for your needs is crucial. Here are some tips to finding that perfect place for you.

 

Speak with an Expert.

The first two people you will want to consult when moving to a new city is your Mortgage broker and Realtor. They will be sitting down with you to help insure that you are able to find your dream home.

Your Realtor will help you find neighbourhoods that have the type of home and amenities that you are looking for.

The mortgage broker will assist your in financing your home purchase and letting you know what is affordable based on your lifestyle.

 

School

Are you planning on attending school yourself? Making sure that the neighbourhood you choose is close to your University or has good transit can be important to consider.

Or if kids are involved there can be a number of other questions you might have.

• Do you need afterschool programs in case you have to work late?
• How about daycare or preschool
• If you are planning on staying in the neighbourhood for a long time are there close elementary and high schools?

Recreation

All cities and neighbourhoods have their own recreation. How you like to spend your free time can greatly affect where you will want to live.

• Nightlife / Do you enjoy staying out late and having many bars, nightclubs and concerts to go to?
• Outdoor activities / Are you the type of person that likes to go hiking or be close to the water? Perhaps you want easy access to skiing and snowshoeing. Or is it organized sports you want to be a part of.
• Local events / Some neighbourhoods have more community activities then others. Knowing what kind of local activities are going on might help you decide where you would like to live.

 

Transportation

How you get around can be one of the biggest factors of where you will want to move to. Some neighbourhoods have excellent transit systems that make it so that you will rarely need to use a car. Others are set up so that having your own vehicle is almost mandatory. New Car share programs such as Car2go and Evo allow users to pick up and drop off a car anywhere within the city. This can also be useful if you are looking in to move to a neighbourhood that has limited parking available.

 

Work

Much time is spent commuting to work. Finding a neighbourhood close to your job might be beneficial. Or if you work somewhere that has easy transit access, it might be worth moving somewhere that has easy access to the skytrain or local bus system.

 

Walkability

Checking out the walk score of the home you are looking at moving into can help you determine if it is in the right place for your needs. A home with a high walk score will mean that you will be able to do most if not all your errands without the use of transportation.

 

 

What ever your own personal wants and needs with your new move. It is good to consider these key areas before setting your sites on a particular neighbourhood.