Of all the decisive home buyers in the world, there are 2 types: those who know WHAT they want, and those who know WHERE they want to be. Rarely do we real estate types find the unicorn–a buyer who knows both what they want in a home and exactly where they want to live! (And what happens most often is that a home buyer has an idea of what they want and a few thoughts on neighborhoods…until they actually start looking).
At any rate, our job as real estate professionals is to provide the guidance to help our buyers narrow the scope, essential in a hot market like today.
So, where are the best neighborhoods?
Ah ha! It’s a trick question, really. Because of course, that depends on things like:
- Lifestyle: Do you want to walk everywhere? Be close to the mountains? Or in the heart of the city?
- Family size: Just you, or big family?
- Where you work, and how far you want to travel to get there…
- …and how (bus, car, light rail, horse and buggy)
Personally, I love where I live now: Mercer Island. It’s a small town, but still 10 minutes from Bellevue AND Seattle. The schools are great, there are lots of parks, and my neighborhood has lots of families with young kids like mine.
But when I was young and single (sigh), I absolutely loved living on Queen Anne, with its proximity to downtown, cute boutiques, coffee shops, and brunch at the 5-Spot.
Enough about me, though. If you are looking for a new place for YOU to call home (and you haven’t done this already), make a big long list of the things that are important to you now (and probably for the next 5-10 years).
Write down those things listed above, and whatever else you can think of that may affect where you live. (After all, if a long commute is a deal-breaker, you probably don’t want to live in North Bend and commute to South Lake Union in Seattle!) And then…tell your Realtor what you’re thinking! We’re not all mind-readers.
Because the truth is, the best neighborhood is the one YOU want to live in. And once you figure out where you want to be, it’s much easier to find the right home–instead of wasting time searching for the right house in 16 different areas. 🙂