If you’re thinking about moving to a neighborhood, then you might want to know whether it’s dangerous or not. If you have a family, then that becomes even more crucial to know. Presumably, you don’t want to move to a neighborhood where you won’t feel that you and the rest of your your family members can walk or drive around safely.
You need to consider several aspects of every neighborhood before determining whether you’ll want to live there. For instance, some San Antonio neighborhoods have very low crimes rates, but they’re quite close to other areas with higher ones. You don’t want to have a situation where crime from a nearby neighborhood spills into yours.
If you’re not sure whether to move into a neighborhood or not, you can take a few different actions to determine whether it’s appropriate for you and the rest of your family. Let’s look at some ways you can get an impression of a neighborhood that you’re targeting right now.
Look at Online Crime Stats
For one thing, you can go online and look at crime stats. By Googling that neighborhood along with “crime stats” or “crime reports,” you can usually get a pretty good idea of what that neighborhood’s criminal element looks like.
You can usually find online police reports that tell you not just how many crimes occur, but where in the neighborhood and what kinds. Sometimes, you’ll see color-coded maps that indicate what kind of status a neighborhood has.
They’re usually pretty easy to read. You might see a green area that means little or no crime or a red area that indicates you’re looking at a more dangerous neighborhood.
When looking at a neighborhood’s crime stats online to try and assess the danger level, you should also pay attention to what kinds of crime usually happen there. Something like breaking and entering or car theft obviously will give you pause, but rapes and murders give a neighborhood a distinctly different feel.
Ask the Police in Person
You can also go to that neighborhood and ask the police what they think of it, if you see any cops on patrol. They will usually have no problems telling you how they feel about a particular location.
They might have some insights that crime stats online won’t necessarily give you. If you don’t see any cops out patrolling the area, you can also stop by the local precinct and talk to whoever’s at the desk. They can probably give you a great deal of information about the neighborhood and what it’s like to live there.
Ask the People Who Live in the Neighborhood
You can stroll around the neighborhood and talk to the people there as well. What they say will tell you a lot about the area, but how they react will too.
You will not want to approach any young children, but if you see adults, asking them can reveal what they think about living there. If they seem casual and relaxed about not just living here, but also talking to you, that might indicate that you’ve found a neighborhood with residents who don’t mind speaking to each other.
Easy communication among residents sends a strong signal that you’ve found a safe neighborhood. You can take some additional steps if you still want to learn more, though.
See Whether You Spot Many Children Playing in Yards
As you walk around, look at the houses. Do most of them seem like they’re in good repair? Do they have well-maintained lawns? Do the lawns have birdbaths, or do the houses have flower boxes?
If you see all of that, it usually means pride of ownership. That’s another clear indication that you have residents living there who don’t intend to go anywhere anytime soon.
You should also see whether you can spot a lot of kids playing in front yard, backyards, or even in the street. Do you see children throwing a baseball or football around? Maybe they’re splashing around in a sprinkler or playing hopscotch.
If you see any of that, it’s another indication that you’ve potentially found a suitable neighborhood to raise your kids. If you have some young ones, you’ll know that they’ll have some potential playmates there who they can meet.
See Whether There’s People Walking Around or Riding Bikes
If you see lots of people jogging or walking around, that’s definitely a positive sign. Maybe you see people walking their dogs. You might see bike lanes and people riding bikes in them. You might see kids on skateboards as well.
All of that probably means that the residents don’t have a lot of fear to leave their homes to get some fresh air and exercise. Since you will likely want to do the same, you can look at all of that as another point in the favor of this particular neighborhood.
Look for Evidence of Drug Activity
You should also look for evidence of any drug activity. That means obvious junkies sitting on stoops or asking you for change. You might also see glass vials or syringes discarded on the street.
All of that probably means drug use, but you can also look for boarded-up houses or ones with a lot of trash in their yards. That could mean drug use, but it might also mean you’re looking at an impoverished neighborhood.
That probably means you can buy a house there cheaper, but where there’s poverty, there’s frequently more crime. One almost always follows the other.
Visit the Neighborhood at Different Times of Day
As a final test, you should also try to visit this neighborhood several times. You can go there during the day and at night. You can visit on both weekdays and weekend days.
By doing so, you can further assess the area. You can see how noisy it gets. If you’re someone who values your quiet at night, then what you see will likely influence your decision.
