In This Guide

Before you start

Choosing an area

   1. Choosing an area

   2. Transport

   3. Crime

   4. Amenities

   5. Landscape

   6. Neighbours

   7. Check it out

Homes needing work

My dream home

New homes

Offline search

Online search

Schools

Types of purchase

Viewing property

Country Guides

• All Guides

All Countries:

• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Cyprus
• France
• Italy
• Panama
• Poland
• Portugal
• Spain
• Turkey
• USA

Choosing an area

Landscape

Print Contents Prev Page Next Page

Whether it's the seaside air, rolling green countryside, coastal cliffs, pretty woodland, or a modern urban jungle, most people know what they like to see when they draw the curtains in the morning. It can be worthwhile giving some consideration to the physical appearance of the area in which you want to live.

Find out the answers to questions such as:

• How built up is the area?
  
  
• Literally how green is the environment? Are there plenty of parks and trees? (this may not be what you want if your thing is urban chic) Is there a leisure centre or gym to serve the area? Can I transfer membership of any clubs I belong to, or are there new ones that I could join?
  
  
• Do you like the dominant style of building in the area?
  
  
• Does the area seem to be clean?
  
  
• How quickly can you get from the area out into the country?
  
  
• Is it near to the sea?
  
  
• How exposed to the elements will it be during the winter?
  
  
• Perhaps you have health issues that pretty much govern the sort of area you can choose. You may get around on foot and prefer there to be less hills than there are in some places. Or maybe you're a budding Tour de France cyclist and want quite the opposite!
  
  
• What sort of factories are active in the area? Remember that certain industries have factories that some people find pretty ugly and that create unpleasant smells or noise. You will only really be able to tell if this sort of thing will be an issue when you go to an area and see what it is really like.

There is no substitute for actually visiting an area to answer these questions. But there are some things that you can do from arm's length. There is nothing stopping you from finding out about local countryside, or if you are moving to a city, get a map and see where the parks and greenbelts are.

Prev Page Next Page