When hunting for a rental, one of the most important factors you must consider is finding a child-friendly neighborhood. Besides the features you’d ordinarily consider when searching for a rental, moving with children means you must include more considerations on your must-have list than just “reasonable rent.”
As you begin the hunting process, ensure you bear these tips in mind so you can locate the ideal kid-friendly neighborhood for you and your kids.
Educational Resources
It’s important you assess the public schools in your potential neighborhood. Although rankings aren’t everything, it’s important to establish whether the schools have good standings.
Don’t forget to explore other educational resources. For instance, you should establish the number of daycares that exist in the neighborhood and the ages that enroll there.
Additionally, you should examine whether the daycare’s enrollment is at minimum or maximum capacity. This will help you determine whether families with young kids are moving away or into the area.
You should also search for active tutors as a quick and easy way of discerning whether families with school-aged children reside in your new neighborhood.
Playgrounds or Parks
When you’re seeking a family-friendly neighborhood, you want to see families out and about. If you discover that there aren’t any neighborhood playgrounds or parks, it might be challenging. When you have a family, parks offer the ideal place to know other families within the area.
Public Opportunities
Establish whether your neighborhood provides child-centric activities throughout the year. In the event that you discover the neighborhood area lacks opportunities that center on children, you may want to consider another neighborhood before signing the lease. Some of the best opportunities to watch for include summer camps and afterschool programs.
Public Services
When you drive through a prospective neighborhood, you should watch for things such as the cleanliness and maintenance of streets.
You should also check whether sidewalks exist and find out whether public transportation is available nearby. When hunting for a rental, ensure that you’re content with the level of services in the neighborhood.
Green Space
Green spaces enable children to be themselves. For instance, art enthusiasts can be creative without the fear of making a mess in the house. Essentially, green spaces encourage imagination, creativity, and contentment in your children.
Backyards are vital green spaces, particularly for families with pets, though they aren’t the most significant outdoor area.
Ensure your prospective neighborhood has huge gathering areas where your children can acquire social skills and check for playgrounds, pools, basketball and tennis courts as well as park benches.
Streets
Pay attention to the types of streets your prospective neighborhood has. If you discover the neighborhood has several long streets that drivers can use as shortcuts throughout rush hour, this could be inconveniencing.
To avoid this, look for cul-de-sac streets. Remember, kids enjoy playing outside with others in the street and they can’t do so if vehicles are barreling through the area at high speed. Instead, find a neighborhood with curves that will slow vehicles down.
Final Thoughts
When trying to locate the best place to live, selecting a neighborhood is nearly as crucial as choosing an apartment or house.
Although it might be impossible to know everything about your prospective neighborhood, a thorough analysis will ensure you move into the appropriate environment. If you don’t know what to look for in a kid-friendly neighborhood, check out this list.
For more information on what to look for in a neighborhood before renting with kids, contact us at Apartment Agents or leave a comment.
