What Do You Look For In A Neighborhood When Buying or Renting A Home?

[Diane Lane]

What criteria do you use to determine whether an area is good / safe or not? I know we can look at crime stats, drive through at various times and days to see what is going on, and what types of people and vehicles we see, but are there other things that I'm missing, that you, as law enforcement, look for in an area or neighborhood?

 

[missbishi]

The thing is, it's too easy to make incorrect assumptions in cases like this. Crime statistics are probably the only real indicator of whether a neighborhood is safe or not. You can't just assume that somewhere is dangerous just because theere are a bunch of guys standing on one street corner or whatever.

 

[Gabe]

I look at what kind of shops and stores there are as that gives you an indication of the neighborhood and also how well kept the streets are. I tend to look at schools, if there are good schools nearby the area usually is quite safe too. Of course you read reviews, but the best thing to do is have a meal in the area to get a feel for it and see the locals.

 

[dyanmarie25]

If there are some good places to hang out at without having to worry about getting robbed or murdered. If there are also good schools that haven't been into news yet because of trouble. If most people in the neighborhood look very nice and kind of professional, though I know that looks can be deceiving. I think you've just got to research first about the neighborhood before renting/buying a home there.

 

[JoanMcWench]

I hang around in the area for a while. I eat at restaurants & shop at stores as well as check out playgrounds & tour schools. Other than this I like to see crime statistics & look up the sex offenders. Doing both of these things gives you a more even idea of the community. If one is just to look at the negatives you'll never find a place to live.