Narrowing In on a Neighborhood
May 28, 2014
When relocating to Bay Area, finding a neighborhood that suits your needs might be a challenge, especially if you aren’t familiar with the area. If you’re buying and want to make sure your decision will be something you won’t regret, here are some ideas to help you find an area that best suits your lifestyle.
Go Online
Much like a dating website where you can plug in your characteristics and desires, there’s a website called NeighborhoodScout.com that finds your best neighborhood match. All you do is type in your current neighborhood or somewhere you know you would like to live, and this site will pull a list of areas to explore on your quest to relocate. This is a great time saver compared to the old method of asking around and relying on word of mouth experiences.
One of the biggest headaches is narrowing on an area or neighborhood to only find out that your drive time takes longer than waiting in the drive-through lane at an overcrowded Starbucks. Visit SigAlert.com to see the area of interest and major roadways with a map and even live video to track. This site also give estimates of average speeds in real time, so you can see if you’re willing to make the commute before you fall in love with a house or neighborhood.
If you’re in a preliminary search, you might want to give Google Maps Street View a try. If you just want to see what the houses look like or if you can see anything shady before you take the time to make a visit in person, this is a great and simple option.
(Photo attributed to Flickr member @DesignbyZouny via the Creative Commons license.)
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