My search continues for a place to settle down permanently and purchase a home. Due to jobs, traffic, and climate, my goal is to stay in California. California is a large state and thankfully much of it has awesome weather. However, in narrowing down towns I’m unfamiliar with, I not only look at housing prices, but crime rates. Higher crime usually equals lower property prices so I can’t get too excited when I see homes for under $300,000 – it could mean it’s in the ‘hood.
I’m currently investigating the Sacramento – Davis – Woodland area of northern California. This area has a similar climate to where I currently live, but a smaller population base, which I’m looking for in a city (not too small at around < 60,000 people, but smaller than 4 million!) I’d also have access to the coast, a large and hip metro (San Francisco), and the mountains within a 90-minute drive. Based on CrimeReports.com, I’m pretty sure I’m going to stay far away from some areas of Sacramento! Holy, moly there’s a lot of crime going on up there.
Of course, when I first pulled up the interactive map, I couldn’t get a feel of how much crime there was compared to my current neighborhood. So, I pulled up my current neighborhood to compare all the icons I saw in Sacramento. I turned off the sex offender icon because, sadly, there were so many in each city I was having difficulty just looking at the icons that represented current crimes like theft, armed robbery, and burglary. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my current city has far less crime than some of the larger metros.
Narrowing down my city search based on cost of living, job availability, and crime gives me a smaller area to visit- making this a little easier than just throwing a dart on a map and saying, “Let’s go there!”
Have you checked out crime statistics in your neighborhood? Were you surprised?
12 Comments
Good site to use! Luckily there’s not too much where I live. Even though everyone in the world seems to think St. Louis is like hell, it’s really not.
@Michelle – That’s great that your neighborhood is pretty safe. I don’t think I’ve ever been to St. Louis unless I count a lay-over at the airport. 😉 Good to know it’s not “hell”. 😉
I’ve never used that site, but I do know where the worst areas for crime are around here. I probably live in one of those areas right now (lol) but we just rent so we’re no as concerned.
We have a lot of petty crime in our neighborhood, but haven’t experience anything directly. Good luck finding a great place to put down roots.
@Retire by 40 – Thanks, Joe. I still think moving is a couple of years away, but at least we have time to research an area a little more in depth and the economy should begin to bounce back by then.
I have not really checked on my place but since you’ve shared a good site, I might as well track it. Thanks.
We were just talking about this at coffee this morning. There was a crime outbreak this past weekend. We have a high crime rate for where we live. It is unfortunate really.
@Miss T – I know the feeling. I have an idea of how much crime we have in our area, but until I saw it on a map, I guess I was under the impression my neighborhood was somewhat “safe” in comparison. I’m glad it’s not as bad as it could be, but it’s still a little scary.
the economic value and social health of a neighborhood often depends on its safety. Neighborhood crime results in fear and distrust among neighbors, while safe neighborhoods foster a desirable quality of life among the community. When neighborhood crime is not prevented, it contributes to the neglect and disintegration of the community. Knowing how to prevent neighborhood crime is important to the social and economic prosperity of the community.
Well sometimes crimes are unexpected and we can’t really avoid it but we can also make a way how we can reduce crimes near our house and even in some other places..
Well, I can’t argue on that. First thing to consider is your family’s safety and security. Good thing you really considered it. Good luck searching for a perfect place to settle down. Will watch out for your updates! 🙂
We always think about the safety of our family especially the kids.. It is really important to have the best and safe house in order to avoid them..