Below are some tips to research a neighbourhood which may be unfamiliar to you.

  1. Research the neighbourhood from the comfort of your home with our resources:  Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Delta, Surrey.
  2. Drive through the neighbourhood to get a feel for the community, demographics, pride of ownership and types of housing.  You may want to do this during the day and evening to get a true sense of noise, smells and activity.
  3. Ask the neighbours their opinion.
  4. Do the amenities meet your needs?  Can you walk to shops, restaurants, schools, parks?  Do you love to bike?  If so, how are the bike routes?
  5. Research the schools and perhaps visit them in person.
  6. If you are commuting to work, test drive the route during the week at the times you'd be traveling.  If you are traveling with the flow of rush hour, it could take an hour or more to commute in some cases.  Also, bridges can bottleneck if there is an accident or bad weather.
  7. Many cities have community plans for various neighoburhoods.  These will give you an idea of what the city has in store as they move towards the future.
  8. Some cities have crime statistics which are invaluable.

If you'd like help researching an area, please let us know. We're happy to help.