Foreign Perspectives

If you’re looking to buy a home a fair distance from where you live, chances are you’ll try to make your search part of a small holiday and that you’ll be aiming to go there when the weather is good too.

Whilst I appreciate the sentiment in trying to make it more of a holiday than a chore, remember that if you’re planning on settling in that area that you won’t be constantly going to the local theme parks or tourist attractions but instead will be going to more mundane places like the office, the shopping centre and the schools. This doesn’t mean that it needs to be a boring time for you but that you need to consider the amenities that you’ll be using on a regular basis if you buy in the area.

Also, it is at least partly a chore. Who really wants to go round an area just to find out where the schools and shops are? Can you face the hassle of looking through bus timetables just to see if you’ll be able to use public transport to get to work?

Finally, that weather business. Whilst obviously it’s preferable not to be trawling round houses in the driving rain, you should try to go to the area when it’s “normal”. For example, if you’re buying somewhere near Disney World the area will obviously have quite a different feel to it outside the school holiday season than when it’s teeming with children. Some areas can virtually close down in the Winter and you’d not necessarily be aware of that if you’ve only ever been there in the Summer.