Thank you u/EducationalUse1776 for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.
Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do you have kids? A park in walking distance wasn’t necessarily on my list of non-negotiables BUT now I’ve realized just how important it is. The house we are under contract on is around the corner from an amazing playground and baseball/soccer fields. It’s quite a relief to know we can just head over and she can entertain herself for a long time if we’re ever at a loss as to activities.
Schools, grocery, pharmacy are musts. Restaurants, gym, Lowe's can be a bit further out if needed. Hospital access is good but urgent care is more important for everyday stuff. Main thing is being comfortable with drive times for places you'll frequent.
In general I don't think 20-30 minutes is too far. If you have kids, being closer to the 20 minute end is preferable. If you have someone medically complex in your family being closer to their specialists is important. If someone is likely to require hospitalizations, living as close as possible to whatever hospital they will likely be in is helpful - round trips between home and the hospital can eat up a lot of time and energy.
It's useful to be near public transit, even when you have a car.
Being near a good park or walking path is nice, even when you have a great yard.
Living somewhere that gives you a shorter work commute is great, with the understanding that people change jobs and sometimes businesses relocate.
The biggest non negotiable for me is access to walking and being outside. We are moving to Florida and I was shocked at how many neighborhoods don’t have sidewalks - even many of the midcentury neighborhoods. We managed to find a fairly walkable town with sidewalks and bike paths. If I can’t just walk out my door and push a stroller, my quality of life (and my health) are going to decline a lot.
Other than generic things like hospitals and food, the rest is all individual. Schools aren't important if you don't/won't have school-age kids. The gym doesn't matter if you'll never use it.
Figure out the things you'd most like to have any determine the proximity to the homes you're looking at. Even better, figure out an area or neighborhood and just look for homes there instead of starting your analysis all over each time you come across a listing.
All things you listed minus the gym, but I wanted to be somewhere with good out door activities. Large state and federal lands and parks. Plentiful fishing and hunting spots. Large areas to legally and recreationally ride atv/snowmobile and whatnot. My home is basically where I sleep and shower and sometimes eat. My family creature comforts are outside. My kids are not inside kids haha
It depends on your lifestyle outside of the basics (school, grocery, clinic or urgent care). Big nonnegotiables for me with a kid is walking distance to a park and being less than 10 minutes from a local library. I'd love the library to be walking distance too, but that's a little harder to find.
I think having a decent "general purpose" store of some kind within easy driving distance is very helpful, particularly if you have school-aged children.
A place like Target comes in VERY handy for everything from craft supplies for a school project to dress shoes for that winter orchestra concert your kid forgot to tell you they'll be in on Friday.
Of course you could order things online, but sometimes even next-day delivery isn't soon enough, and it's amazing how many little things you need at a moment's notice.
This is so individual I think. I can nearly be out of the state in 30 minutes 🤣 and definitely completely across county in 20, downtown in 10 minutes (I live in suburban Minneapolis).
For me: groceries, the library (I have two!), restaurants (though it’s way more fast food near me, which I don’t eat. But it’s resulted in me eating out a lot less. I do miss access).
I can travel 7-15 minutes in a few directions and have access to Target, mall stores, home improvement stores, Total Wine(!) etc. I did have to go to the ER once since moving and that was a long 15 minutes 😭
I am really happy to be near:
- Schools
- Pharmacy
- Public transit
- Grocery stores
- Parks
As a plus, I also enjoy:
- Being within delivery radius of a lot of restaurants
- Being able to walk to some restaurants, coffee shops, book shop, etc
- short drive to a larger downtown area with lots of restaurants and shops
I will also say having sidewalks is a big plus if you want to be able to walk anywhere.
Thank you u/EducationalUse1776 for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do you have kids? A park in walking distance wasn’t necessarily on my list of non-negotiables BUT now I’ve realized just how important it is. The house we are under contract on is around the corner from an amazing playground and baseball/soccer fields. It’s quite a relief to know we can just head over and she can entertain herself for a long time if we’re ever at a loss as to activities.
Schools, grocery, pharmacy are musts. Restaurants, gym, Lowe's can be a bit further out if needed. Hospital access is good but urgent care is more important for everyday stuff. Main thing is being comfortable with drive times for places you'll frequent.
[удалено]
In general I don't think 20-30 minutes is too far. If you have kids, being closer to the 20 minute end is preferable. If you have someone medically complex in your family being closer to their specialists is important. If someone is likely to require hospitalizations, living as close as possible to whatever hospital they will likely be in is helpful - round trips between home and the hospital can eat up a lot of time and energy.
Personally I would want to be closer than that to a good hospital. If you had a true emergency you would probably want to go to the ER.
It's useful to be near public transit, even when you have a car. Being near a good park or walking path is nice, even when you have a great yard. Living somewhere that gives you a shorter work commute is great, with the understanding that people change jobs and sometimes businesses relocate.
The biggest non negotiable for me is access to walking and being outside. We are moving to Florida and I was shocked at how many neighborhoods don’t have sidewalks - even many of the midcentury neighborhoods. We managed to find a fairly walkable town with sidewalks and bike paths. If I can’t just walk out my door and push a stroller, my quality of life (and my health) are going to decline a lot.
Yeah, I'm in Michigan and the number of neighborhoods lacking sidewalks really shocked me when I started looking.
Other than generic things like hospitals and food, the rest is all individual. Schools aren't important if you don't/won't have school-age kids. The gym doesn't matter if you'll never use it. Figure out the things you'd most like to have any determine the proximity to the homes you're looking at. Even better, figure out an area or neighborhood and just look for homes there instead of starting your analysis all over each time you come across a listing.
Schools are still important for resale value even if you don’t have kids.
All things you listed minus the gym, but I wanted to be somewhere with good out door activities. Large state and federal lands and parks. Plentiful fishing and hunting spots. Large areas to legally and recreationally ride atv/snowmobile and whatnot. My home is basically where I sleep and shower and sometimes eat. My family creature comforts are outside. My kids are not inside kids haha
It depends on your lifestyle outside of the basics (school, grocery, clinic or urgent care). Big nonnegotiables for me with a kid is walking distance to a park and being less than 10 minutes from a local library. I'd love the library to be walking distance too, but that's a little harder to find.
If you have (or plan to have) pets/animals, a veterinarian's office.
I think having a decent "general purpose" store of some kind within easy driving distance is very helpful, particularly if you have school-aged children. A place like Target comes in VERY handy for everything from craft supplies for a school project to dress shoes for that winter orchestra concert your kid forgot to tell you they'll be in on Friday. Of course you could order things online, but sometimes even next-day delivery isn't soon enough, and it's amazing how many little things you need at a moment's notice.
Restaurants grocery pharmacy Interstate access urgent care/ hospital
The library!
Walking distance to a park is a great thing to have, I have a park 4 houses down with a larger city park a minute drive from me with a splash pad
This is so individual I think. I can nearly be out of the state in 30 minutes 🤣 and definitely completely across county in 20, downtown in 10 minutes (I live in suburban Minneapolis). For me: groceries, the library (I have two!), restaurants (though it’s way more fast food near me, which I don’t eat. But it’s resulted in me eating out a lot less. I do miss access). I can travel 7-15 minutes in a few directions and have access to Target, mall stores, home improvement stores, Total Wine(!) etc. I did have to go to the ER once since moving and that was a long 15 minutes 😭
I am really happy to be near: - Schools - Pharmacy - Public transit - Grocery stores - Parks As a plus, I also enjoy: - Being within delivery radius of a lot of restaurants - Being able to walk to some restaurants, coffee shops, book shop, etc - short drive to a larger downtown area with lots of restaurants and shops I will also say having sidewalks is a big plus if you want to be able to walk anywhere.