Hellobee Boards

City data forums is where I did a lot of research on neighorhoods

When we would look at a house on Zillow or Trulia or whatever, I would pull up the address on Google maps and do a satellite or even streets view to check out the area. We knew we wanted a neighborhood with wide streets and sidewalks (our old neighborhood had neither). We wanted to be close to conveniences, like restaurants and grocery stores. We wanted to be close to a major road but not on one. Once we found a couple of neighborhoods we thought we liked, we told our realtor and she kept showed us houses in those areas. We ended up in a pretty ideal neighborhood!

Being in a good school district was our #1 priority, so we were able to weed out quite a few neighborhoods that way.

If anyone has a commute, start by looking at neighborhoods/buildings that will minimize that. I've never heard anyone say "Gee, I wish my commute was longer." Plus, long commutes are expensive and not great for you (unless you walk or ride a bike, but let's face it, not many people do that).

Rent! And while you're renting, talk to everyone you can in the areas where you think you'd like to buy. I printed out a map of local parks within a 30-40 minute radius of our apartment and we systematically went to all of them and talked to people there. The locals will tell you what they like and don't like about their neighborhoods. I also took advantage of car naps to drive around neighborhoods that I thought were interesting. We found a fantastic spot, but only because we took our time and rented for several years.

Best school districts.

When we found out we were moving here, we had 3 weeks notice! We found some online forums that were pretty helpful and got in contact with 2 different people who previously lived here so I asked them about safe/good neighborhoods. (Turns out the whole city is really safe.) We got really lucky and found a nice apartment in a great neighborhood. If you are going for a permanent or semi permanent move, I would probably find a short term rental and do that for 4-6 months before committing to a location.

@mediagirl: Do you know anyone that lives there? I would start on FB. There are so many good and bad sections of cities that going in blind would be scary.

I'd look up good school districts, then top schools within that district. Then check to see much the selling price of houses nearby and how far stores, parks, and other points of interest are. I'd definitely drive by and visit to check-out the vibe few times.

If you already have an idea where you want to be, I'd check foreclosures around the area - there's a few apps available, but I forget the names.