Your neighbourhood has a big impact on your lifestyle. Follow these steps to find the perfect community you can call home.

Is it close to your favourite spots?
Make a list of the activities — movies, health club, church etc. — that you engage in regularly and stores you woul visit frequently. See how far you are willing to travel from each neighbourhood from which you are considering to engage in your most common activities.

Check out the school in the vicinity.
Check out the schools in the vicinity.

Find out if the neighborhood is safe.
Consider not only the number of crimes but also the type — such as burglaries or armed robberies — and increasing or decreasing trends.

See if you will make money.
A well-informed Accredited Agent/Salesperson or the government planning department also may be able to tell you about planned developments or other changes in the neighbourhood — like a new school or expressway — that might affect value.

Make personal observations.
Once you have narrowed your focus to 2 or 3 neighborhoods, go there and walk around. Are homes tidy and well maintained? Are streets quiet? How does it feel? Pick a warm day if you can and chat with people working or playing outside.