Step 1: Select Desirable Location Characteristics
Do you want to live on a quite street, away from traffic? Are you willing to commute a long distance to get the amenities you desire? Or is a shorter commute—say, no more than half an hour—a quality-of-life issue for you? Do you have a large enough family that four bedrooms is a necessity, or can you live with three? There are many specifics about an area that are important in making a location decision, including type of households residing in that area, job opportunities, affordability, safety, climate, education, transportation, hospital and medical services, sports, parks, recreation, entertainment, downtown, shopping, view, culture / ethnicity, religious organizations, hills, water, and so on.
Step 2: Prioritize Your Needs and Wants
Rank, sort and prioritize your list according to the different characteristics. For example, the top priorities for a young household without children are likely affordability, commute, entertainment and recreation. On the other hand, education, safety, parks and low-to-medium household age are top priorities for a household with children.
Step 3: Identify Local Areas with the Characteristics You are Looking For
Prioritizing characteristics narrows the available pool of local areas. For example, if ocean is a top priority, then the list of available areas shrinks to coastal cities. Since I study the neighborhoods daily and work with clients that have all kinds of needs, you should let me help you identify areas that fit your needs.
Step 4: Visit Your Top Local Areas
Next, plan a driving trip and visit your top neighborhoods. If education and recreation is important, drive by the schools and parks. If entertainment is a priority, walk the downtown. Previous clients asked me to prepare tours for them. Just let me know and I will prepare driving / walking tours for you.
