When you’re planning to move, one of the most important things to consider is if you’re moving into a safe neighborhood. Especially if you have young children or live with elderly family members, having a home that resides in a safe place can help make your life a lot less stressful. But when you’re unfamiliar with an area, it can be hard to know for sure if you’re moving into a neighborhood that’s as safe as you’d like it to be. So to help make this a little easier on you, here are three tips for finding a safe neighborhood in which to live.
Check For Sex Offenders
One thing that your family might be interested to know is if you’re planning to purchase a home that’s near anyone on the registered sex offender list. While this may or may not affect your decision to live in that area, it can help you to be more vigilant if you know exactly what some of the potential threats could be in your area. To find out this information, Maria Salova, a contributor to Homes.com, recommends checking the National Sex Offender Public Website. This website will let you enter the address of the home you’re considering and will then tell you if there’s a registered sex offender living close to you. This information can be invaluable to help you determine the safety of a particular neighborhood.
Use A Crime Tracking Tool
In addition to wanting to see if there are any registered sex offenders in your potential neighborhood, you may also want to know what other crime is or has taken place in your area. Luckily, there are quite a few apps and websites available to help you find out this information. According to Alexia Chianis, a contributor to SafeWise.com, some websites that you should look into are AreaVibes, NeighborhoodScout, FamilyWatchdog, and CrimeReports. All of these websites can give you additional information about the number of homes that get broken into, if the police get frequently called into the area, and more. This can be very helpful when trying to compare the safety of one neighborhood to another.
City Profile Reports
Marian White, a contributor to Moving.com, shares that there are City Profile Reports available that will not only show you about crime in the area, but will also tell you about the quality of schools, cost of living, climate, residential data and more. With this information, you can have a more complete picture of what the entirety of living in this neighborhood could look like for your family.
If you’re worried about moving into a safe neighborhood, use the tips mentioned above to help you find the right one for your family.