Best way of judging an area?
Discussion
Most of the time property prices alone will tell you how good/ bad it is, but then again its personal opinion how decent an area is to live in, so have a long drive round the local area at various times of the day and make your own judgment.
There is of course crime statistics etc to go off, perhaps even ofsted reports for the schools. If you find a house then speak to the neighbours about how they find the area.
There is of course crime statistics etc to go off, perhaps even ofsted reports for the schools. If you find a house then speak to the neighbours about how they find the area.
Go round at different times of the day/night, see how busy it get's if people are parking their cars like t
ts, scumbags hanging around etc. also good to go round now during the school holidays and see if there are young feral kids roaming around causing bother without any intervention from their parents, as they'll only get worse as time goes by.
ts, scumbags hanging around etc. also good to go round now during the school holidays and see if there are young feral kids roaming around causing bother without any intervention from their parents, as they'll only get worse as time goes by.
There used to be a site called "Up My Street" I think it's now renamed to this one http://www.findahood.com/locations that has statistics on areas crime, education...
As others have said though there's no substitute for how you feel while you're there.
As others have said though there's no substitute for how you feel while you're there.
GarryDK said:
When I recently moved I used the police website for crimes in the area, Zoopla’s heat map and on driving around check the level of cars around the area. Old bangers and rust heaps in gardens are not a good sign.
To a point. Cycling around nicer areas I've always been struck how some of the bigger country houses have older cars. Well maintained granted but older. Newer cars for the council estates. But yes clapped out bangers is never a good sign. V8mate said:
Fittster said:
Price is the best indication. Can anyone thing of an example where an area is dodgy yet the prices are high?
Central London?t' comment then fair enough.However you can judge the desirability of different areas of London by their property prices. There's a good reason for property in Belgravia being rather more expensive than that in Hackney.
If the sites where you are looking give floor plans with total square footage it is always informative to plot out the £/sq ft for each property that interests you.
You can then roughly compare prices between areas and notice if the price of a property within an area is out of line.
The only thing to watch out for is that the price of an area can be skewed by proximity to a good school or public transport which may or may not be necessary for you.
You can then roughly compare prices between areas and notice if the price of a property within an area is out of line.
The only thing to watch out for is that the price of an area can be skewed by proximity to a good school or public transport which may or may not be necessary for you.
Countdown said:
We are looking at moving house (after 30-odd years in the same place). The new house will be a big step-up "size wise" and "money-wise" so, preferably, I don't want to risk moving into a dodgy area.
Is there any way of judging how "nice"/"decent" an area is?
TIA
Surely it's a quite subjective thing as to what's nice or decent. Just clicked on your profile to see where you are, and it says you work in town planning!Is there any way of judging how "nice"/"decent" an area is?
TIA
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