It took us months to decided where we wanted to buy our first house. 

It’s a decision that’s not to be taken lightly, especially if you have kids or are planning on doing so soon.

After walking through countless houses is various counties, we decided to build in a small community that is a lot like the one I grew up in as a kid, except a little better.

Our decision for our house location was based on the free demographic information, with which I payed especially close attention to the following criteria:

• School System Rating (our is excellent)
• Average income (we wanted to fit in, not too rich and not too poor)
• Average house size and appreciation in value from previous years (nobody wants to be in a declining community)
• Crime Rate (obvious…)
• Amenities (Parks, Rec Centers, etc)
• Taxes

After a lot of searching, we found the location where we now live at.  It had the perfect amount of families with children in the neighborhood, a small park that was a street over, it’s very close to junior high and high school, and we were able to walk to the Recreation Center to swim outdoors in the summer… 

It was a great pick, and we were both very proud of our decision.

Now some of you may be wondering why I was concerned about average income and average house price.  Well, this was because I didn’t want to be one of the poorest family in an expensive community.  Plus, such a community tends to have high taxes anyway…  Nor did I want to be the other extreme (crime might be higher in a such a location)…  I was going for the goldilocks position (just perfect)! 

What was your location criteria when you were house shopping? 

If you are shopping now, I hope this post can give you something to think about other than just looking for a pretty house!

-MR