New Home Hunting!

[sporky_rat]

So, I'm hunting a new home. Let's all share ideas and tips on finding yourself a new burrow!

-Check the police. Here, I can call the non-emergency number and say, 'Dearest Copper, how often have you had to visit this area for break-ins, robberies and other crime?' and they can tell me!

-Visit the neighborhood you're thinking about, both during the day and at night. Is it noisy? Dangerous looking? Streetlights in good repair? Sidewalks, even? Are the people friendly around the area? For example, several of the places I'm looking are what are considered the slightly dodgy areas, but they're full of older retirees and college students these days, not the dodgy folk who moved to SE Burg.

-Find out who your electricity/gas/water would be with and get ideas on what it would cost.

-Make sure you've made sure that you can fit your moving vehicle in the driveway or parking lot. Yeah, I made that mistake once. Never again.

-Craigslist, if possible. They have pictures sometimes!


Anyone else?

Comments

[risha]

When I suddenly had to move several states away in just a couple of weeks (for a new job), I found Google Maps surprisingly useful. Not just for the street view feature, though I did use it to check out potential houses, but for the My Maps feature. There, I found maps annotated by actual locals, which gave me hints on what were considered the best neighborhoods and which were overpriced, areas to avoid, good places to shop and eat, which parks were nice, etc.