Moving to a new city
How do I choose a neighborhood in a city I have never lived in?
Updated By the Housing Rocket moderators
Short answer
Start from where you need to be, not from lists of best neighborhoods. Mark your work or school, test the commute at rush hour, filter the areas that fit your budget, then check each one for groceries, parking or transit, noise and the feel of the streets by walking them on a map or in person.
- Mark your fixed points on a map: work or school, plus anything you go to several times a week.
- Check commute times from different areas for your actual arrival time, by the way you will actually travel.
- Browse listings to see which of those areas you can afford for the space you need.
- Walk the streets of your shortlist with a street-level map view: shops, parking, busy roads, bars below apartments.
- Ask specific questions in the city's housing group, such as how parking is on a street or how loud a strip gets on weekends.
- If you can visit, go on a weekday evening and a weekend morning.
Be specific when you ask locals. 'Where should I live?' gets fifty different answers. 'Two bedrooms under $2,000 within 30 minutes of downtown by train, quiet street, parking optional' gets useful ones.
Watch for things a listing will not tell you: resident-only parking permits, street cleaning days, a long walk to the nearest grocery store, a highway or rail line behind the building, or a nightlife block that is lively at midnight. These matter more over a year than an extra closet.
Want the whole picture? Read How to Find Housing Before You Move to a New City.