In the previous segment of this 2-part series we looked at some different ways to use online tools to help find the home of your dreams in an unfamiliar city (although the same tools could be used to find a home in your own city too.)
Today, we follow up on that post by highlighting some utilities that will help you become comfortable with your new neighbourhood after you've found a winner, but before the big move.
Two of the main concerns expressed by new homeowners are the proximity of their new house to convenience destinations like grocery stores, restaurants etc., and the closeness to important institutions like schools for children. Here are some ways that you can put those concerns to rest using some Google Maps tricks and Google Maps-based services online.
Nearby Amenities
Before moving to a brand new area, it's always nice to know which, if any, amenities are nearby; and particularly which ones are within walking distance.
Luckily, with a great Google Maps-based service called WalkScore.com, you can find out exactly what types of restaurants, stores, bars, cinemas and more destinations are within walking distance from any address in North America or the UK.
This little tool was also brought to my attention by my friend and social media expert Rahaf Harfoush over at TheFoush.com, and it is definitely worth checking out for anyone who is moving to an unknown area. As you can see in the screenshot at the top of this post, the Google Maps on WalkScore feature overlays of commonly sought amenities like the ones I mentioned earlier, and in a side tab it shows the estimated distance of each one from your home.
Even if you don't intend to walk a lot in your new city (though we should all consider doing so for the sake of the planet), this tool will still give you a pretty detailed bird's eye view of how conveniently located your home may or may not be. It's worth a look - after all, if you find you're 30 kilometres from the nearest grocery store, that might be less than desirable!
As a bonus, in many major American cities, WalkScore also features Google StreetView integration, which means you can actually see the routes from street level as though you were walking along the sidewalk. It doesn't get much better than that for checking out a new neighborhood from afar. (StreetView will be rolled out eventually in Canadian and British cities, despite initial holdups around privacy concerns, and when it is I'm sure we'll see WalkScore integration for those addresses as well.)
Schools
For those of you with children, another important feature of any new home will be its proximity to local schools. Obviously, it's great to know how far your little ones will have to trek by foot or bus every morning to get to class.
For this particular tidbit of information, we can use Google Maps and a simple little search query that I'll show you now to find a list of all the primary and secondary schools in your area on an easy-to-interpret map.
First, go directly to Google Maps and when you get there, type the following into the search bar:
category: "Schools Academic Elementary & Secondary" near YOURADDRESS
Obviously, you will need to replace "YOURADRESS" with the address of your new home (be as specific as possible). As you can see on the screenshot above, this query should give you a nice map with all the elementary and secondary schools in the immediate vicinity of your home. Here's a link to another Ottawa example of the query in action.
You can also click the link at the top of the left column that says "Refine by: Distance" to narrow or widen your net by kilometre radius.
I've tried this tactic for several major cities in Canada and the US and it seems to work quite well in all of them, but keep in mind that this tool is only as good as the data available to Google Maps, so your mileage may vary if your local school district does not publicly list school locations.
With these tricks and tools, combined with those we covered in the first installment, you should be able to find the perfect home, and get an excellent idea of all the amenities and schools available in your new neighborhood, all before you've even visited in person. How's that for technology improving the way we live?
Have we missed any great tools in this roundup series that you would use to get to find a home from a different city and/or get to know the neighbourhood? If so, please feel free to share in the comments!
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