The best way of evaluating a new area?

chickmug

On a separate thread I am looking in to how to help someone with a possible SO home purchase. He is willing to move almost anywhere but now we are getting into the detail the realisation is kicking in that what looks OK on the PC may in real life NOT be OK.

I know there is Upmystreet but how else can you get a feel of somewhere without travelling what could be hundreds of miles on wasted journeys.

cattie

I know my area has it's own website, so maybe worth checking out to see if there is something similar for the area you are talking about. Mind, it does list mainly community events & such & doesn't give a real insight to what the area is like for residents, which I imagine is what you are hoping to find.

Another way, if it's a completely strange area might be to take out a short term sub on a local freebie paper. These often give a decent idea of what the area is like on the whole, from crime to community.

westv

This site might be useful for some places.

www.chavtowns.co.uk/

superfran_uk

Check out the local police website, find out which ward it is in and whether crime is higher or lower than the surrounding areas. Look at the council website and see if there are any consultations which have ward-by-ward breakdowns, for instance the BVPI general survey (if it's been done well) and how it performed against other areas.

If you google the ward name, depending on how on the ball the local services are, there might be a lot of information about the area and what people think about it, and there might not.

I know you say you don't want to go there, but taking a walk round the area at night is probably the only way you're really going to find out what it's really like to live there!

mlz1413

try and find out what the local newspaper is, most newspapers are available online now.

vicstick86

strange one, but if you type the area into youtube sometimes videos come up from that area people have made!

I live in bristol and if you type in hartcliffe, or sea mills a lot of videos of children setting fire to cars and swearing at the police comes up.... gives you a jist! lol

AdrianW2

superfran_uk wrote: »

Check out the local police website, find out which ward it is in and whether crime is higher or lower than the surrounding areas.

Ward level crime stats aren't particularly useful since crime is much more localised than wards.

Neighbourhood policing teams often have their own section on the force website with the (vocal) local residents' priorities (not necessarily the real problems). You need to read between the lines a bit and they don't tell the whole story. Speeding tends to be the priority when there isn't any serious crime to speak of (although it's also a proxy for joyriding).

The neighbourhood teams are usually fairly chatty and happy to give to a couple of minutes on the phone. But they will be tactful.

superfran_uk wrote: »

I know you say you don't want to go there, but taking a walk round the area at night is probably the only way you're really going to find out what it's really like to live there!

Much of the serious aggro is domestics and/or wars between families/rivals. You won't see that walking round an area at night unless you're unlucky. You may see groups of kids but have very little way of knowing if they're beligerant or not.

Nenen

I know the people you are trying to help are almost retired (hence I assume don't have young children) but if you look at Ofsted reports for local schools they provide some stats which might give you some information relevant to your needs.

00ec25

try facebook, we have our own group based on the parish boundary

PasturesNew

This site has a guide: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/free-house-prices#insurance

I'd use this site - Quality of Life Indicator: http://www.uklocalarea.com/index.php
Compare the results with 2-3 areas you known well.

And the statistics.gov website: http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadHome.do;jessionid=ac1f930b30d790e9b8b9338941b5a2e0d5cecca0979d?m=0&s=1244043981765&enc=1&nsjs=true&nsck=true&nssvg=true&nswid=975

chickmug

PasturesNew wrote: »

This site has a guide: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/free-house-prices#insurance

I'd use this site - Quality of Life Indicator: http://www.uklocalarea.com/index.php
Compare the results with 2-3 areas you known well.

And the statistics.gov website: http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadHome.do;jessionid=ac1f930b30d790e9b8b9338941b5a2e0d5cecca0979d?m=0&s=1244043981765&enc=1&nsjs=true&nsck=true&nssvg=true&nswid=975

Thanks good links.

You must have a heck of a favourites list:D