Your neighbors, local businesses, and parks will help determine how comfortable you feel in your new home. So it’s worth taking a look at the surrounding neighborhood, too. Finding a house in a walkable neighborhood, even if you prefer getting behind the wheel to hitting the pavement, may help with your home’s resale value down the road.
Neighborhood website pages can be particularly helpful in determining whether a neighborhood is walkable. You’ll often find “What Locals Say” ratings, which tell you the percentage of residents that say their neighborhood is walkable to restaurants, and if it has plenty of sidewalks. You’ll find out if they feel safe enough to walk alone at night, and if it has well-lit streets. Locals are also encouraged to leave comments regarding access to transit, which is helpful if you use public transportation.
If you’ve found a home in a neighborhood you love, take the time to go on a walk through surrounding streets. You should also drop by at different times of day to get a good feel of how the area changes throughout the day. Going in person will also allow you to see what local businesses are nearby, which restaurants you might want to visit, and you might even get to know your potential new neighbors.
