There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to finding the best neighborhood for you and your family. What might be a dream location for some can seem like a nightmare for others. So, how can you go about finding the best place to rent a single-family home?
While everyone has different needs, there are several things you can do to locate your dream neighborhood. In this guide, we’ll take a look at 5 essential steps to take to ensure your new rental is in the best place for you.
1. Identify Your Wants and Needs
Before you start scouring the country for your dream neighborhood, you need to decide on what’s important to you and your family. The best way to do this is to create two lists; your needs and your wants.
In the needs list, write down all the things that your new neighborhood has to have to make living there possible for you. For example:
- Access to good schools,
- Shops and other amenities that are within walking distance from your front door,
- Access to public transport,
- A location that enables you to commute to work in less than an hour.
The second list is for those things you’d like your new neighborhood to have but you could live without if they weren’t available. For example:
- Nearby cafes,
- Playgrounds and parks,
- Plenty of parking,
Once you’ve identified your needs and wants, you can start to narrow down your search. As a starting point, you should now be able to decide whether you’d like to search for a single-family home to rent in the city, suburbs, or countryside.
2. Use Online Tools To Narrow It Down
With a good idea of what you’re looking for from your new neighborhood, you can now start searching online to narrow things down. The idea is to create a short list of places to visit in person since most of us don’t necessarily have the time and energy to visit every single neighborhood that ticks some of the right boxes.
There are several online tools to help you take a closer look at neighborhoods across Canada and the U.S., but you can also use online forums to ask people about their experiences. Seek out forums with like-minded people, such as families, young professionals, or whatever is relevant to you. If you have a general area that you’re interested in, simply search “best neighborhoods in x” and you’ll normally come across numerous sources reviewing the various neighborhoods in the area, highlighting the pros and cons of each.
Other online tools can help you identify anything from neighborhoods with the best schools to areas that are known for being the most walkable. Remember to look at your needs and wants, and use them to narrow your search down.
3. Visit in Person
Once you’ve spent time researching various neighborhoods online, make a shortlist of the ones that tick the right boxes. Visiting each neighborhood on your shortlist might be a bit time-consuming, and with young kids in particular, stressful, but it’s an absolutely essential step. No amount of online research can compare to seeing a place in person and using your own senses to really get a feel for whether it’s the right choice for you.
In many cases, you’ll soon know whether you could make yourself at home in a particular neighborhood. One good tip is to attend open houses in the neighborhoods you’re interested in. Even if you’re not in the market for the house, it’s free to attend and a great way to see what the homes in the area are like as well as the surroundings.
By visiting a neighborhood or house in person, you can soon eliminate any homes that might sound great online but aren’t what you’re looking for in reality due to the surroundings.
4. Spend Time in the Area
Often, one visit is enough for you to know whether a neighborhood isn’t right for you. However, it’s worth spending time in any area you’re seriously considering to be sure that it’s the right choice for you. A place can have an entirely different atmosphere depending on the time of day or night, so it’s worth making several visits at different times.
If you’ll need to commute, see what the area is like during rush hour. If you’re looking for a peaceful neighborhood, visit on a Friday evening or over the weekend to see if it gets uncomfortably loud.
Spending time in one place can also make you aware of things that might easily be missed if you just passed through. A nearby train line, for example, could lower your quality of life once you’ve moved into your new rental. But, by spending more than a few minutes in the area, you’ll soon be able to foresee this potential problem.
5. Explore the Local Amenities
If your chosen neighborhood is still ticking all the right boxes, you’re almost at the finish line. The last thing to do is explore the area as if you were already a local. Go back to your wants and needs list and think about which amenities are important to you.
For families, it’s worth making an appointment with the local schools to see what they’re like. Often you can meet the principal and take a tour, which can offer valuable insight. For other amenities, such as public transport, shops, cafes, and anything else that’s important to you, visit them and maybe make a day of it, with lunch at a local restaurant.
In this way, you can experience life as a local and decide for yourself whether you’d be comfortable calling the neighborhood your new home.
Choosing the right neighborhood for you and your family when renting a single-family home is well worth taking your time with. While the stakes aren’t as high as if you were to buy, it’s still best to get it right to avoid having to move again once your tenancy is up.
