Dream settings, unfortunately, don’t last forever. You move into the home of your dreams to find out the neighborhood isn’t what you expected, whether it’s because of your neighbors, crime, poorer than anticipated walkability scores, increasing prices, etc.
You’re willing to wait it out to see if your situation improves, but you also don’t want to put your life and happiness on hold. Here are three signs it’s time to move to another neighborhood.
The Neighborhood No Longer Supports Your Lifestyle
People change. While your neighborhood might be frozen in time, you might have changed over the course of your residence. This, of course, could mean a number of things. You might want kids or are about to have kids and want to live in an area that’s better suited for raising your little ones. A different neighborhood could provide better schools, less traffic, quiet neighbors, and more.
Your kids might be off to college and you want to live in a home that’s smaller to reflect that. Or you might want a bigger home. Your neighborhood might be in a big city that thrives in the nightlife, something you don’t want to be a part of any more or vice versa. You might want to move to the country, or you already live in the country and dream of moving to the city. Whatever the situation might be, if your lifestyle no longer supports your neighborhood, then that’s a sign to move. People change and it’s encouraged to change our surroundings to reflect that.
You Suddenly Face Safety Concerns
If there are any safety concerns in your neighborhood, then that’s the ultimate sign to move. Red flags could include bad neighbors or criminal behavior. If there’s suspicious behavior in your neighborhood, then you could do background checks on Go Look Up and find possible police and arrest records, mugshots, and other relevant information.
You’re not being a bad neighbor—you’re doing your homework and keeping your family safe. Other less obvious red flags could include many houses on the market and schools enrolling fewer students. If you see any red flags that raise safety concerns, then it’s best to move as soon as you can. While you likely did your research before moving to your current neighborhood, things change over time. For better or worse, your neighborhood might not be what it once was.
Your Financial Situation Has Changed
The final sign that it’s time to move to another neighborhood is your financial situation has changed. If you can no longer afford your house, then it’s a smart financial decision to put your home on the market and find a new place to live. Likewise, if you make more money and want an upgrade, then, by all means, move to a different neighborhood that reflects your new and improved situation.
There are many reasons to move and it might come down to no longer liking where you live or your commute being longer than expected. Before making this big decision, we encourage you to use a home loan extra repayment calculator to see how much your monthly payments will be for a different home, the duration of the loan, the interest rate, etc. It’s fine if you want to move, but you need to be realistic during this process and you also have to be able to afford the new neighborhood you’re moving into.
There are many signs to move and it does come down to wants, needs, and preferences. However, if your neighborhood no longer supports your lifestyle, there are safety concerns, or your financial situation has changed, then it’s time to move.
