4 Tips on Making Your New Neighborhood Work for You
It’s tempting to rent an apartment based just on the square footage and rent. But you’re not going to just sit in your apartment every night and weekend. So, before you move into a new apartment, though, make sure the surrounding neighborhood or community suits your needs.
- Check out the After Hours Transportation:. Of course everyone thinks about their work commute. But make sure that you’re conveniently situated for safe, convenient transportation to other places you like to visit, whether that’s the beach or your sister’s home. Whether you’re expecting to use the New York City subway or drive LA’s freeways, check out your transportation routes in advance
- Where’s the Community Spirit? Some neighborhoods enjoy long-established traditions such as a Halloween parade, block parties, or summer outdoor concert series. Contact the block association, local paper, or local merchants association to find out what your new neighborhood has to offer—and find out how to get involved, too. After all, if you move into your new apartment in September, you might not realize that there’s Christmas caroling or a New Year’s Eve street party in December, or a free community swim in July.
- Finding Pet-and-Child-Friendly Places. It’s wonderful to have neighbors who can pitch in if you’re in a crunch. If you are a single parent, check out the parent networks by visiting the playgrounds, the schools, the after school programs. Or, if you own a dog, you might want to find out whether there is a dog run, an organized group of dog-.lovers in your new area.
- Find Your Fellow Hobbyist. Make sure you can indulge in your favorite hobbies or activities close to home. If you love to cook, is there a farmer’s market or gourmet food shop nearby? If you’re a tennis player, cyclist, or marathoner, is there a place nearby where you can pick up a game of tennis, bike, or run a few miles, and meet other runners? If group knitting or tutoring school kids are your passion, make sure there’s someplace convenient where you can indulge yourself.
Ellen Freudenheim is a veteran travel writer and the author of several comprehensive guidebooks to New York City . Her 500-page guide to over 20 neighborhoods of Brooklyn is called Brooklyn: the Ultimate Guide to New York’s Most Happening Borough (St. Martin’s Press, 2004). Her most recent book is Queens: What to Do, Where to Go (and How Not to Get Lost) in New York’s Undiscovered Borough (St. Martin’s Press, 2006). (www.queensguidebook.com).Both are available from online booksellers.
© Ellen Freudenheim 2006. No part of this article can be reproduced without the author’s permission.
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