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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

If you’ve decided to move, your kids could be totally on board, or they could be acting like it’s the end of the world. Even if they think your only reason for moving is to ruin their lives, you only want what’s best for them. This means you’ll want to find the best neighborhood in the area for your kids. How do you do that, though?

Safety

Your first concern should be your family’s safety. The closer you get to the center of your new city, the more likely it is that the crime rate will be higher. The suburbs are much safer, but if you need to live near the middle of the city, do your research before you even start looking at houses. The first step would be to look at the official crime rates in your neighborhood, but don’t neglect the experience of others residing in the area, either. Talk to anyone that’s familiar with your new town or city to get a good feel for it.

Schools

Be sure to check out the schools in the area next. Even if you’re planning on sending your children to private school, look into public schools in the area, too. You never know when your circumstances might change, so be prepared for any situation. If your children are young, don’t forget to look at high schools, too – they’ll be graduating elementary school before you know it. Look online for statistics on each school, like their student to teacher ratio, standardized test scores, and graduation rates. Follow up by visiting the schools in person.

Quality of Homes

The quality of homes in a neighborhood is a good indicator to the quality of the neighborhood itself. If there are a lot new home builders constructing nice houses, you’ll probably end up with okay neighbors, but if you notice that a lot of the houses in an area are almost falling down, don’t be surprised if it’s undesirable for families with kids.

Green Space

Look for parks and trails in the neighborhoods that you look at. No matter how old they are, kids – and adults – need a safe place to play outdoors.

When looking for the best kid-friendly neighborhood, make sure to research the area thoroughly. If your children don’t want to move now, they probably won’t want to move after you find out you moved into a bad neighborhood, either.

Earnest Parenting: help for parents who want to find great neighborhoods.