What makes a neighbourhood your own?
Tuesday, August 2022
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburban, or rural area, consisting of a single or more streets and buildings on it. Neighbourhoods are often considered social communities with frequent interaction between residents.
When people look for a home, location and more specifically neighbourhood plays an important role. Right after your home, it is your neighbourhood and neighbours that you will have to live with for as long as you choose to live there, so it is a pretty huge deal breaker
Prospective home buyers have to consider a great deal of factors when home hunting such as what are the features they want vs features that are must to haves, a good location close to many amenities. On the other hand, some home buyers might prefer a more suburb area that offers close-knit community. Then there are also those who wish to find their dream home in the same neighbourhood they have been living or renting in, because it feels like a home to them.
So what makes a neighbourhood feel like your home?
When asked this question, you might simply answer that your neighbourhood is pretty great as you have been living there for years without any issues or disturbances, but have you delved deeper and considered, what really makes it feel like you belong here?
A family-friendly neighbourhood
If you have been searching MLS listings or looking up houses for sale in GTA or elsewhere, I am sure you have come across a plethora of advertisements that claim that the listing is in a family-friendly neighbourhood, close to many amenities, with great transit/walk score, etc. But it is ultimately you who can decide if the area is truly a family-friendly one as every family and every member of that family is different with unique needs and preferences.
For example, if you live in a neighbourhood for several years and you still do not know if ever you are in trouble, your next-door neighbours will come to your help or simply look away, then it does not feel like a great neighbourhood no matter how much of a great walkscore it might have.
If you do not feel safe walking down the streets of your home after dark, if people are rude, or even hint racism towards you, it might not be the right neighbourhood for you. On the other hand, your neighbourhood should also not be so intrusive or nosy-minded that it breaches your privacy and makes you feel uncomfortable.
In short, a neighbourhood that is your own would make you feel safe and sound, comfortable at all times, have a close-knit community with like-minded people, convenient, and feel like your second home.