Factors When Picking Where to Live

[BlistexWorks]

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I wanted to have a thread similar to the "Factors When Picking a School" to find what people consider important when deciding where to live. I'm open to any format, but I was thinking something like: Must... Must not... It would be nice... and I'm not sure if...

Here's Mine:

Must:
- allow my chocolate lab
- have a kitchen & washer/dryer
- be within a 10 min drive/walk to school
- have central air/heating

Must not:
- have a mean landlord
- look like it will collapse at any moment

It would be nice if:
- it had covered parking or garage

I'm not sure if:
- if I would like a housemate/roomate
- if I prefer carpet, tile, or other flooring

Maybe people can add on to have one big list (like the acceptances thread) or just one list per person. Let's make this thread grow!

 

[DVMorBust]

Neighborhood Must:
-be in a location I'd be fine taking my dog for a walk at 1 am if I'm alone (huge range, but that's my meter stick for general location).

Neighborhood Must Not:
-be in a 'downtown' region with more concrete than anything else. Can't do it, go crazy. I need *some* interaction with green in my daily life.

House/Apartment Must:
-Have a decent sized kitchen
-Allow dogs and caged pets
-Have washer/dryer or have convenient laundromat (otherwise I just never do laundry. Sad but true.)
-Be affordable to heat (either heat included, or not wasting space inside)

Must Not:
-Have horrible neighbors (Having lived through the single-mom-who-can't-control-kids (i.e. calling police on her son at least once a week), teenager-who-spray-paints-in-the-basement-in-the-middle-of-winter, the couple-who-have-physical-altercations-and-we-call-police-on-them, dog-owners-who-have-dog-poo-in-basement-and-don't-pick-it-up, and the 'british-mob'(?)-lurking-around-to-catch-friend-of-neighbor-while-her-druggie-boyfriend-tries-to-stir-stuff-up, this is a necessity. Yes, I will move. Yes, I will raise a fuss. Yes, I know I'm usually laid back. Not here.)

...hmm. There's other things I don't like, but that's the only one I feel hugely strong about...

Would like:
-yard and/or house outside city
-easy commute to school AND barn (hahaha - the golden ticket right there)
-covered parking/outside storage

...that's what I got for now.

 

[ckd816]

Must Not:
-Have horrible neighbors (Having lived through the single-mom-who-can't-control-kids (i.e. calling police on her son at least once a week), teenager-who-spray-paints-in-the-basement-in-the-middle-of-winter, the couple-who-have-physical-altercations-and-we-call-police-on-them, dog-owners-who-have-dog-poo-in-basement-and-don't-pick-it-up, and the 'british-mob'(?)-lurking-around-to-catch-friend-of-neighbor-while-her-druggie-boyfriend-tries-to-stir-stuff-up, this is a necessity. Yes, I will move. Yes, I will raise a fuss. Yes, I know I'm usually laid back. Not here.)

Yikes! The worst I ever had was the guy-downstairs-who-played-rock-band-until-4-in-the-morning-so-loud-that-you-could-hear-exactly-what-song-he-was-playing-through-the-floor!

However, now I have shady-neighbors-who-sell-drugs-and-run-a-chop-shop-out-of-their-house-and-have-domestic-disputes-and-so-many-police-warrants-that-the-SWAT-team-came-last-week-and-did-a-raid-but-still-did-not-catch-them. They're lovely! 🙂

 

[DVMorBust]

Yikes! The worst I ever had was the guy-downstairs-who-played-rock-band-until-4-in-the-morning-so-loud-that-you-could-hear-exactly-what-song-he-was-playing-through-the-floor!

However, now I have shady-neighbors-who-sell-drugs-and-run-a-chop-shop-out-of-their-house-and-have-domestic-disputes-and-so-many-police-warrants-that-the-SWAT-team-came-last-week-and-did-a-raid-but-still-did-not-catch-them. They're lovely! 🙂

You got a SWAT team? Now I'm jealous. The most I ever got was 4 police officers coming up to my car asking if a. I lived in the building, b. if I lived alone, and then telling me to get in and lock myself up and stay out of public areas. Evidently the upstairs neighbor (she of unable-to-control-son fame) heard someone in the attic. Police didn't find anyone. She then became convinced that the house was haunted. Did I mention that she was an alcoholic who counsels drug addicts? ...

I feel so bad for her kids.

 

[tpad40]

Lol - DVMorBust your neighbor stories sound like a nightmare! I have really weird neighbors right now who are harmless and fortunately quiet. The son (who is in his twenties) likes to listen to video-game music on his boombox outside. He has also asked me on three occasions if he can borrow a miniature screw driver.

After reading some of your lists I am wondering where you guys have lived? I think it totally totally varies by location. In some locations (i.e. central virgnia where I am now) parking, AC, yard, are necessities on my list. However in other locations (i.e. Providence) parking, yard, and AC are definitely luxuries. I have many firneds living in other big cities like Boston/NYC/San Fran where even a kitchen is somewhat of a luxury!

But here is my bare-bones applies everywhere list:

MUST:
- Feel safe-ish, have good locks on doors, not "feel" sketchy
- Allow dogs 🙂 Or at least allow my terrible terrier.
- Be close to whatever I am moving there for

Almost MUST:
- Have dishwasher (I detest dishes, I would almost sacrifice a stove for a dishwasher)
- Lots of light!!!
- Have some yard/strip of land
- Have spot for a grill!!
- Parking - I hate street parking and I;ve had my car broken into once, that was unpleasant
- Be walking distance to coffee, restaurants, etc.

It would be nice if...
- Laundry -I have been without one for the past 4 years 😱
- Central Heat/AC - never had this, but it sure would be nice
- Gas stove - I hate cooking with electric
- Wood floors
- Fireplace
- Built in shelving/storage
- Landlord allowed you to paint walls - paint is the cheapest way to redecorate!
- Has "charm" - I love older apartments despite their flaws. I'd go for the beat up brick apartment with slanted floors over a new condo anyday.

I am slowly starting to look for apartments now...even though I am not sure if I will be in Philly or Blacksburg Not a fun process! I hate moving!

 

[ckd816]

You got a SWAT team? Now I'm jealous. The most I ever got was 4 police officers coming up to my car asking if a. I lived in the building, b. if I lived alone, and then telling me to get in and lock myself up and stay out of public areas. Evidently the upstairs neighbor (she of unable-to-control-son fame) heard someone in the attic. Police didn't find anyone. She then became convinced that the house was haunted. Did I mention that she was an alcoholic who counsels drug addicts? ...

I feel so bad for her kids.

That is kind of funny! Still slightly scary and sad though...

But yes, SWAT! The police have paid several visits to my neighbors but then the SWAT team came and searched the house... No one came out when they said they had a warrant so they threw a grenade into their yard to try to scare them out! Then they forced their way in. It was scary... Apparently the search was due to suspicion of stolen goods. Other neighbors said that a bunch of guns were found there and the cops were calling in serial numbers! I still think it's drugs since there is so much traffic over there. Anyway, at least it kept me entertained on an otherwise dull Tuesday night. 😛

 

[sumstorm]

For the Raleigh area, what I am looking for (purchasing):

Must:
solid/sound structure
safe neighborhood
reasonable resale value
yard
off street parking

Must Not:
condo
overly expensive to repair
insane HOA
breed restriction banning GSD's
limit on # of dogs
requirement for single family living
bans on real fences

Nice if:
yard was fenced already
yard was large
house was relatively modernized
any repairs needed are cosmetic
appliances included
sane neighbors
large lot
close to school (short biking distance)

Nice if it didn't have:
all white carpets
all white walls (paint is cheap, so tolerable)
something more than red clay for a yard (grass, plants, moss, not picky!)
noisy/nosey/difficult neighbors
HOA
restrictive covenants
high traffic
prone to natural disasters

 

[twelvetigers]

prone to natural disasters

That would rule out my entire state in most people's book... 🙁 Haha.

Thank goodness I live in such an awesome place... so here's hoping I don't have to move to go to vet school. 😉

I notice that everyone lists "safety" as an issue, but I think that everyone's idea of safety is quite different. Walking alone at night? Being able to leave your car parked on the street without fear of theft? Having extra locks on the doors?

 

[sumstorm]

That would rule out my entire state in most people's book... 🙁 Haha.

Thank goodness I live in such an awesome place... so here's hoping I don't have to move to go to vet school. 😉

I notice that everyone lists "safety" as an issue, but I think that everyone's idea of safety is quite different. Walking alone at night? Being able to leave your car parked on the street without fear of theft? Having extra locks on the doors?

LOL. My big goal is to avoid hurricanes, massive wildfires, and major earthquakes. Also not to live in actual flood planes! I'm tired of evacuations and large SAR operations (but just know I readily report for SAR work in any natural disasters.)

 

[bunnity]

LOL. My big goal is to avoid hurricanes, massive wildfires, and major earthquakes. Also not to live in actual flood planes! I'm tired of evacuations and large SAR operations (but just know I readily report for SAR work in any natural disasters.)

I've taken a bunch of geology classes and my conclusion is that if I rule out earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanos, tornados, landslides, and subsidence / collapse, I will have to remain here in Western PA, on a huge hill (to prevent flood issues), forever! I'm kind of joking, but it's crazy how each place has its own brand of scary natural disaster.

 

[rachroo]

I wanted to have a thread similar to the "Factors When Picking a School" to find what people consider important when deciding where to live. I'm open to any format, but I was thinking something like: Must... Must not... It would be nice... and I'm not sure if...

I laughed so hard when I read this since I did this (on my own, in real life) a while ago when my roommate and I were selecting apartments we were really interested in to look at for our "master-must-visit-list."

In this circumstance I am brought back to a prof's comments on how you can pick out a science major since they love to organize, make lists, and group things together. 🙂

 

[DocDVMD]

Oooh this reminds me of HGTV... who else loves House Hunters!? 😀

 

[sumstorm]

Yes! And inevitably everywhere I live has to be hit by a disaster! Only half joking..I have survived a building collapse during a tornado, a tree going through my house during a hurricane, a typhoon, flash flooding, and a severe earthquake. The last hurricane was just beyond my tolerance level. I also tell my parents they aren't allowed to visit me when I live out of state....one year later there is some disaster (only half joking, again.)

 

[GenghisCohen]

Right now I'm a lot more decided on the kind of place I want to live than where I want to go to school, so hopefully once I make the big decision it will get easier from there.

Must Have:
Allow my cat
Hardwood floors, I hate carpet
Good natural sunlight throughout, to keep the plants happy
Diswasher, as current diswasher is the boyfriend, and he does not plan on joining me
Window frames. My current place does not have them, and it just drives me up a wall
Good insulation. I don't mind being hot, but I hate being cold, and would prefer to keep the heat bill below the tripple digits.

Would be nice if:
Vintage details, like built-ins or a fireplace
Walking distance from a coffee shop or bar (preferably one with darts and PBR on tap)
Easy parking
Outdoor space where I can grill

Must Not Have:
Obnoxious hipster neighbors who don't have real jobs and like to hold band practice at 3 in the morning on week nights.

 

[LivestockDoc]

Oooh this reminds me of HGTV... who else loves House Hunters!? 😀

That would be me. I have my DVR set to record it all the time. It's great for getting some info about different areas.

Neighborhood Must Not:
-be in a 'downtown' region with more concrete than anything else. Can't do it, go crazy. I need *some* interaction with green in my daily life.

Ha! Good thing you're not moving to Colorado! There's no green here. Everything is brown. Horrible conditions for a gardener like me.

 

[ckd816]

Oooo yes to House Hunters! Anything on HGTV rules.

I seriously wish there was a vet school in Phoenix because there are practically no natural disasters here! There's the occasional flash flood outside of the city, but other than that you just have to put up with ridiculous heat from April to November! 😛 There are some pretty sweet haboobs (giant dust storms) during monsoon season but they are rare!