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Years ago a work associate of mine was moving because their kid was about to start school. They knew the area they wanted to buy in because it had the best schools. He wasn't familiar with the area or who lived there and this guy is very calculating and determined to uncover every detail about everything so, he took time off for a few days are drove around the area, parking in various spots for an hour here and an hour there to observe what went on during different hours. This included hours when kids were coming and going from school. Well, wouldn't you know it; day 3 the cops show up and want to have a chat with him about his reason for being in the area. His current ID showed he didn't live anywhere near there. He damn near got arrested as some kind of prev. This guy was the meekest, straight-laced guy you would ever meet. I'll bet he almost shart himself right then and there LOL. Lesson is; be careful how you go about checking out your new neighborhood!
..........**We bought our first home in a suburban neighborhood when we were dual income no kids (DINKs). We both worked long hours and really didn't have the time to go out that much. We were happy to spend our weekends grilling in our backyard, sometimes having friends over, but mostly we would spend our Friday and Saturday nights hanging out together in the basement, listening to music, watching t.v. or playing card games. There weren't too many young couples without kids living in our neighborhood but we made it work.**
Same situation for me and my wife. 31 years later, we're still here, and the other families have come and gone. On the 7 house cul-de-sac that I'm on, only 3 original owners remain....
Years ago a work associate of mine was moving because their kid was about to start school. They knew the area they wanted to buy in because it had the best schools. He wasn't familiar with the area or who lived there and this guy is very calculating and determined to uncover every detail about everything so, he took time off for a few days are drove around the area, parking in various spots for an hour here and an hour there to observe what went on during different hours. This included hours when kids were coming and going from school. Well, wouldn't you know it; day 3 the cops show up and want to have a chat with him about his reason for being in the area. His current ID showed he didn't live anywhere near there. He damn near got arrested as some kind of prev. This guy was the meekest, straight-laced guy you would ever meet. I'll bet he almost shart himself right then and there LOL. Lesson is; be careful how you go about checking out your new neighborhood!
It's not necessary to go to those lengths. You can cruise through on a couple of weekends, park, get out and stroll around where you see residents out working on their front yards or taking walks. Introduce yourself as a prospective resident, and just ask them if it's a quiet neighborhood, any loud teens or barking dogs, etc. If you see any retirement-aged-looking folks, they're usually happy to talk.
Watch Investigation Discovery's "Fear Thy Neighbor." A few episodes will definitely have you casing out any neighborhood you are thinking of moving to. Some of those episodes are very intense/frightening.
It's not necessary to go to those lengths. You can cruise through on a couple of weekends, park, get out and stroll around where you see residents out working on their front yards or taking walks. Introduce yourself as a prospective resident, and just ask them if it's a quiet neighborhood, any loud teens or barking dogs, etc. If you see any retirement-aged-looking folks, they're usually happy to talk.
Except you may be asking the loud neighbor, who never sees themselves as the loud neighbor. Then that neighbor will tell other neighbors that some idiot is asking about who is loud and we don’t need someone like that living here. Then he moves in and he is in for a rude awakening.
Watch Investigation Discovery's "Fear Thy Neighbor." A few episodes will definitely have you casing out any neighborhood you are thinking of moving to. Some of those episodes are very intense/frightening.
Or the British version, "The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door" on YouTube (I'm currently binge-watching).
Generally speaking, if you buy in a suburban neighborhood of single family homes your neighbors are likely going to be families with kids - babies to college age. You can expect the sound of kids playing basketball, dogs barking, lawns being mowed, etc. If it's an older neighborhood you can expect to have some elderly original owners, too.
if you live in an historic house in an artsy downtown area you can expect to have a mix of dual income no kids, single people, a family with mostly young kids here or there, young retirees.
If you move into an active 55+ community, you can expect to see mostly retirees, some of whom might have young adult children living with them full time, some of whom might have their adult children and grandchildren visiting.
**We bought our first home in a suburban neighborhood when we were dual income no kids (DINKs). We both worked long hours and really didn't have the time to go out that much. We were happy to spend our weekends grilling in our backyard, sometimes having friends over, but mostly we would spend our Friday and Saturday nights hanging out together in the basement, listening to music, watching t.v. or playing card games. There weren't too many young couples without kids living in our neighborhood but we made it work.**
You got that right about the 55 plus communities, having adult children living with the retirees. When I moved in one here in Florida I had no idea, there would be all these 20 thru 50 year old adult children living with their parents. I wouldn't really mind all that much, its just there is far to many of them. Unfortunately most of these adult children seem to have problems, that prevent them from living on their own.
You got that right about the 55 plus communities, having adult children living with the retirees. When I moved in one here in Florida I had no idea, there would be all these 20 thru 50 year old adult children living with their parents. I wouldn't really mind all that much, its just there is far to many of them. Unfortunately most of these adult children seem to have problems, that prevent them from living on their own.
I'm glad I learned about this ahead of time. A bunch of 20-40 year old "failures to launch" and THEIR noisy kids taking up the whole pool are not what I would be looking for in a 55+ community.
I was probably one of those neighbors, most didn't want to live next to. TWO teenagers, who were friends w/ at least half the high school, all of whom were hanging out at my house 'til all hours.
I love my new retirement community home. Do you know they pressure wash the streets? It is so pristine. The 2 blocks that dog and I walk each night around 10pm are soooo quiet. The community has a post lamp atop every mailbox so the street is softly lit. The stars look so bright. Never really saw stars in NY. I don't worry about being out alone or locking the house when I go out. I am a bit of a rebel. I don't leash my dog. I am disabled. I sort-of shuffle. The dog likes to run ahead and run back as I am a bit slow for him. We have never seen a car or a person so it hasn't been a problem. He rans back to me to be leashed if he senses something untoward. Thunder is what tends to have him walking between my legs lately.
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