How to Find a Good Neighborhood

Looking for a safe place to live?

Finding a nice new home is one thing; finding a good place to live is another. Even the nicest homes can be located is the middle of a slum, needlessly increasing your risk of property crimes, burglaries, and worse. In order to feel truly safe, you need to find a good neighborhood to live in before you pick out your place.

Finding a good neighborhood is kind of difficult. Crime maps are nice and all, but they generally fail to give you a good idea of where you’re living. Instead, you need to identify the signs of a good neighborhood and the signs of a bad neighborhood. Here’s how:

The Signs of a Good Neighborhood

A good neighborhood has the smell of freshly cut lawns. Its homes are not peeling, broken or covered in weeds. Its sidewalks are clean and pedestrians are wearing clothing. It generally feels like a place you’d feel comfortable just of walking around. Here are some more good signs

• Cleanliness – The streets should be clean, and buildings should look like someone cares for them, even if they are vacant.
• Gated Communities – Gated communities are a good sign that the neighborhood has itself in order, as are neighborhoods run by homeowners’ associations.
• Manicured Homes – Homes with trim yards and good paint jobs are what you want to see.
• Professional Offices – If lawyers, dentists or doctors find a neighborhood fit to anchor their business, it is probably okay. Professionals generally do not want to be in bad locales, because it will hurt their clientele.
• Restaurants – Local Mom & Pops as well as upscale shops and restaurants are great signs that a neighborhood is a good one.
• Children – Children playing in parks and streets, or parents walking with children/babies, is a sign that locals feel comfortable in the area.
• Neighborhood Watch – Signs indicating that people look out for each other are good, um, signs.
• Schools – Nearby schools are generally a good sign. Most communities do not place their schools in terrible areas.

The Signs of a Bad Neighborhood

Bad neighborhoods have grass coming from the concrete. They are populated by people who probably do not actually live there, and they generally have a feeling of somebody lurking in the shadows. Here are more signs:

• Dirty – Trash on the street and in empty lots is a bad sign, as are unkempt homes.
• Homelessness – If people are sleeping in the street, panhandling or looking generally lost and/or desperate, it’s a bad sign. Some homeless people are just down on their luck; others are homeless for a reason, and present a danger to locals.
• Fast Food & Pawn Shops – Fast food and trashy businesses, like pawn shops and check cashers, are very bad signs. They attract the wrong crowd.
• Graffiti – Some graffiti is beautiful and adds to the community, but most of it is drivel, the product of people who really don’t care about their community and would prefer to essentially scribble on its walls rather than make it look better.
• Vacant Houses & Lots – Vacancy is a very bad sign. It means people are fleeing the area, and it provides openings for squatters.
• Gates – Metal gates on the windows and doors mean people and businesses do not feel safe.
• Hospitals – Neighborhoods adjacent to hospitals tend to less desirable, because hospitals are very loud.
• Loitering – If you see a lot of people standing around looking disheveled and without purpose, you should avoid that street/area.

The Downtown Exception

Downtowns of big cities are the densest parts of the city. Thus, they attract plenty of both the good and the bad. If you’re thinking about living in a downtown, don’t be scared off by panhandlers or gated windows. They’re kind of the name of the game. However, make sure that a neighborhood still has some good signs. That is, don’t let graffiti scare you, but make sure the homes are kept up well, and don’t worry too much about a pawn shop, but make sure you have a good restaurant or two in the area.

Learn more about how to find a new place to live.  

Also, learn how to search for a good neighborhood while living in a different city.