When you start your family, or are intending on starting a family, it’s pretty likely that you’ll want to raise them in a family friendly area. So, when you start home shopping you’ll want a place that is good for your children. Family friendly areas have more than one trait, so it helps to know what to look for.
Take A Drive Through
When you find a home online that you like you should check it out on your own with a drive through, not just seeing it on your scheduled visit. Drive through the area a couple different times during the day, including a trip at night. This will let you find out what kind of area it is and if there seem to be a lot of people loitering around the streets at night.
Driving through should include a trip around the block, or even within a couple blocks of where the home is. Look in any area where your child may be traveling on their own or with friends. You want to do all you can to look out for their safety.
Look At The Schools
You will also need to look at the schools in the area. Don’t just look into the teachers and records for the schools in the area, but you should also drive by the school. See how it looks on the outside, whether it’s clean and kept up.
If you want your children to go to a good school where they can get an excellent education, you may want to do some online research into find out if the optional schools have high graduation and honors rates. Look at what classes they offer and what types of extracurricular activities they have for a well rounded education.
Check On Crime In The Area
Just driving through the area may not be enough to tell you what kind of safety records the place has. You can look online to find out if there are any sex offenders living in the area. You can check local papers for recent crimes. You can even contact the police department to ask how safe the area is.
The last thing you want to do is buy the perfect home only to find out that you bought it in an area that puts your child at risk of being kidnapped, molested, or getting into drugs or other dangerous situations.
Raising your children in a good area not only helps keep them safe, but it makes it so that they can play outside, run down to their friend’s house a few doors down, and maybe even walk to school without you living in constant fear. Just take your time house shopping and find what works best for you and your family.
Originally posted on January 22, 2016 @ 2:00 pm