Visiting potential cities: What to look for? (apartment, neighborhood)

[crayola]

I plan on flying down south to visit a couple potential cities to make a move to within a few months hopefully September at the latest. My question is, when just visiting for about a 24 (maybe 48) hour period, what are the best things to look for and note when considering living there?

I realize I'm not going to be able to take in everything or anything close a city has to offer in one day, but if I only have a couple days per city to work with, what do you all suggest?

Do I visit touristy places, or maybe just stroll down the street and interact with people? Do I try to look for potential living places, or just do more general "fun" activities and worry about that later?

My goal of the trip is take in possibly 2 or 3 places that I've selected via plenty of research, then based off that and my visit, pick out one to start applying like mad for jobs in.

If it matters, the list I'm currently considering includes Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa, and Houston. By the time I take the trip I will hopefully have it narrowed down to 2 of these.

Thanks for the advice!

[citylove101]

I think it would be tough to get a good feel for two or three cities in one day, but since you may be living in one of these places I would concentrate on the residential areas. Maybe first take a quick look at some local apartment hunting sites to find a place or two in your price range and then go walk around those nenighborhoods with an eye out for a few things:

--What types of stores are nearby? Are they clean, well-stocked, friendly, expensive,cheap, or what?
--What are the transportation options to the CBD, entertainment district (if you're not already in them), or work location?
--Are there schools (K-12 or college) nearby? You won't use them but they'll defintely influence neighborhood "feel".
--Do you feel comforatble walking there? Is there a low or high level of street activity, and what type is it?
--If you're driving around, listen to some local radio stations. That can be a quick way to get a feel for a city.
--Similarly, grab every local paper you can find, especially neighborhood weeklies and the like
--Stop in at a local neighborhood restaurant (not fast-food) for a quick bite during a slow time and start up a conversation with the waiter/seater/bartender about the city.

I think looking for the toruisty stuff is easy and you can do that either online or after the residential look.

[Davy-040]

Originally Posted by crayola

I plan on flying down south to visit a couple potential cities to make a move to within a few months hopefully September at the latest.

If it matters, the list I'm currently considering includes Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa, and Houston. By the time I take the trip I will hopefully have it narrowed down to 2 of these.

What is your starting point?
Are you gonna drive from city to city, if so i would say go visit Nashville, Atlanta and Charlotte.

[crayola]

Originally Posted by citylove101

I think it would be tough to get a good feel for two or three cities in one day, but since you may be living in one of these places I would concentrate on the residential areas.

I think looking for the toruisty stuff is easy and you can do that either online or after the residential look.

Thanks for the advice. I would most likely be spending 1 or 2 days in each city, not multiple cities in a day. Either way though, this was helpful!

Originally Posted by Davy-040

What is your starting point?
Are you gonna drive from city to city, if so i would say go visit Nashville, Atlanta and Charlotte.

It depends which couple cities I end up picking. If the drive can be made reasonably to not take up half of a day then I'd do that.