For one reason or another, the time has come for you to move to another city in the country. But before you can congratulate yourself on the genuine opportunities and exciting adventures that may await you there, the urgent task of finding a good home in the new city is burning inside you and won’t let you rest until you accomplish the mission with flying colours.
But how to find the right home when moving to a new city? What are the fundamental things you should consider at all costs before you decide to purchase or rent a new property in an unknown place?
Read on to find out the essential factors that should never be overlooked when looking for a new home in a new city.
Finding A New Good Home
While searching for a new home in a new city, make sure you ask yourself the right questions. It’s imperative that you know what you really want and what you really need, and then proceed to find what it is that you’re looking for.
Cost of living
It’s all about how your family budget can be stretched out, isn’t it? Without a doubt, the property price will be the decisive factor when considering your relocation options. What type of a home will you be able to rent or buy? The size of the dwelling and its exact location in the city limits will determine its price, but you should also take into account the overall cost of the city you’re moving to. Can you afford to move to an expensive city or will you have to find a cheaper city to relocate to?
To better understand whether a city is expensive or not, you’re going to have to research well the very things that determine its general cost of living. Go online and take a closer look at trustworthy statistical data that show the city costs – housing, utilities, food, transportation, education, entertainment. If you have friends who live in the city you’re thinking of moving to, ask them about their personal views on whether they live in a pricey or in an affordable place. Together with your insider friends, you can make useful comparisons of the absolute essentials between the two places and then analyze the results in order to get a much clearer picture of what the other city will offer, and most importantly, at what price.
Housing costs
In your case, the aspect you’ll probably be most interested in will be the housing costs of the new city you plan to move to soon. You should know upfront that sometimes there is no logical and straightforward correlation between the overall cost of living of a particular city and the prices of the real estates in it. A fairly affordable city can hold high housing costs, and vice versa, so don’t automatically assume that the prices of real properties will be lower simply because the general living expenses in that place are lower in comparison to your current one.
And to make things even more complicated, the housing costs differ from neighbourhood to neighbourhood within one and the same city, so it’s very important that you do your careful research before your decision to buy or rent a property. Contact a few reputable real estate agencies in the cities you have shortlisted and request specific pieces of information about the prices of the houses in the different living quarters.
Location
Where would you like your new home to be located? Would you rather live in a quiet suburban area where you can be a bit closer to nature, or do you prefer the big city life whose chaotic patterns somehow have a calming effect on you? Remember that whichever lifestyle you prefer, your future home should reflect your personality.
When choosing your new home, take into consideration the distance from your new house or apartment to the major spots around the city that you will have business with and visit on a regular basis – your workplace, your spouse’s workplace, your child’s school, specific types of shops and so on. Yes, your future home should be strategically located from all the important places you’ll be forced to visit regularly because how much time you gain or lose each day will play a major role in setting your mood each morning or evening.
The distance to your workplace is vital for your peace of mind as the time you could lose on the road is simply wasted, never to return. If you have children, think about the distance to their respective schools as well. Your pocket calculator never lies: an hour to work one way doesn’t sound THAT bad, but 44 hours lost in a 22-workday month doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? That’s a waste of 2 full days!
Another set of questions whose answers you will need to know in advance is: Will you be driving to work and if yes, what do you know about the road traffic in your future city? Is there a shortage of decent parking places or has the parking issue has been efficiently taken care of? If you will be using the available means of public transportation to get around your new city, then you should find out more about its speed, reliability, comfort, fares, schedule and overall level of satisfaction.
Type of dwelling
Another thing that you need to decide when searching for a new home is what type of dwelling will make you feel at home. And the best way to figure out what’s best for you and your family is to disregard the housing costs for a minute, if possible, and think about where you will feel truly happy and at ease.
Do you picture a big house with an enormous yard where your children and pets can play to their hearts’ content? How about a lovely garden where you can prove your secret gardening skills? Or are you a person who’ll feel happier in a smaller yet cozier apartment that’s easier to maintain in tip top shape?
Safety
Having already made informed decisions about the type and location of your place, it’s time to ask yourself, ”What’s best for my family?”. Especially if you have children or expect to have a baby soon enough, then your top priority when choosing a new home in a new city should be its safety.
A high crime rate in your current place can be a reason enough for you to want to move away to a much safer place in the country. Surely you don’t want your children to grow up in an unsafe and potentially dangerous environment with the constant fear of something bad happening. Will your new home in the new city guarantee the safety of you and your family? This is definitely not an issue that should be easily overlooked.
Look for properties in safe communities with low crime rates, reputable schools and tons of green areas. And while it’s true that your future home will be your fortress, the last thing you would want is to have to defend it against ill-intentioned attacks. Look for reliable statistical data about the crime rate in the new neighbourhood or consider contacting the local police and requesting more details. House-breaking attempts aside, you should also take a closer look at the number of traffic accidents and incident of road rage. Remember that your children should be able to play safely around your new house.
Climate
The climate of the new city you will move soon is another important factor you should consider before you can reach your final decision. Maybe you would prefer to relocate to a sunnier part of the country (who wouldn’t?) to escape the unbearable cold spells of your current city. Everybody knows that the warm sunrays are a natural way to relieve the stress in your body and lift up your overall mood. Besides the cold weather, maybe there’s something other climate-wise that you would very much like to escape from (excessive rainfall, strong winds, etc.), and consequently enjoy to the fullest the better climatic condition in your new city.
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