In this Post
–Checklist for Choosing a Neighbourhood
–Investing in Pakistan’s Best Neighbourhoods
The process of moving homes is never easy. It involves a lot of critical and time-consuming steps that people need to take along with managing their busy routines. However, it has been generally observed that when it comes to choosing a new dwelling, homebuyers usually pick a property on the basis of its condition and overall aesthetics without properly investigating the locality they are moving to, which can be a great risk. So, instead of rushing your decision and putting your investment and safety at stake, take a look at our checklist in which we have discussed some important things to consider before moving to a new neighbourhood. This is to help you come up with an informed decision.
Let’s begin
Important Things to Consider Before Moving to a New Neighborhood
Your decision of choosing a neighbourhood should be backed by the following checklist:
- Location
- Security
- Facilities
- Healthcare
- Educational Facilities
- Utility Supplies
- Public Spaces
- Shopping Centres
- Parking Space
Location
Whether it’s about the real estate value of a neighbourhood or your own convenience, the location of a neighbourhood has an important role to play in this regard. This is why the selection of a location for your new home should be included as a priority in your checklist of things to consider when moving to a new neighbourhood. Take your time and do your homework on this very important factor. Find out how far is your new locality from the city centre. Check whether it is connected with the important road links of the city or not. For example, Bahria Town, Karachi may not be located within the city but it is linked with Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway M9, which makes commuting easy and less time-consuming for the people living there.
Security
Security comes second in our list of factors to consider when moving to a new neighbourhood since it is directly related to the safety and well being of you and your family. If you wish to live in a secure environment, you can opt for any modern real estate projects, which are usually fenced all around and have gated entrances. Fool-proof security is one of the major benefits of living in a gated community. Such communities also have their own security forces for patrolling the area and CCTV cameras to monitor the security situation. It is also important to know about the crime rate of an area before choosing it. You can even ask around the people living in the neighbourhood or any of your acquaintances who have any experience of living there. Going to a local police station is another thing you can do in this regard to inquire about any recent criminal activities in the area.
Facilities
Knowing about facilities is usually one of the major concerns of homeowners. Find out if there is a proper waste management system in place, the names of cellular services operating in the area, availability of public transport such as buses, rickshaws, taxis, metros and their accessibility. The real estate value of a neighbourhood greatly depends on the availability of such facilities. You should also do research regarding the emergency services that are available in the locality and how much time it will take to reach out to you, just to be on the safe side. On a side note, read our blog to know more about emergency services in Pakistan and their availability in your region of residence.
Healthcare
Easy access to quality healthcare services is one of the major factors to consider when moving to a new neighbourhood. Don’t entirely rely on Google Maps to do your research, instead go out and find yourself whether the neighbourhood has any state-of-the-art healthcare and medical facilities in its surroundings. Your research may also cover the pharmacies, outpatient departments (OPDs) and emergency wards available in the area.
Educational Facilities
It is always preferable for parents to send their children to educational facilities that are near their homes. This is why having key educational facilities like schools, colleges and universities at a few-minute drive from your residence is considered ideal and makes a neighbourhood suitable for you, especially if you are a parent of school-going children. However. living in any of the popular neighbourhoods in big cities, you’ll always find a good school in proximity to your home. Also, check for the availability of the pick and drop for your school-going kid since it is another important matter to deal with.
Utility Supplies
The availability status of utility supplies is one of the most important things to consider before moving into a new neighbourhood. For instance, if you are buying a property in Central Park, Lahore, then you should know that this housing society is partially developed, which means some of its sub-districts have been equipped with utility supplies while others are not. So, make sure you are aware about all these factors before striking any property deal. Meanwhile, here are a couple of blogs in which we have provided you a guide on applying for a new electricity connection in Lahore, Islamabad and discussed steps you need to take to apply for a gas connection in Pakistan.
Public Spaces
Your checklist of things you need to consider when moving to a neighbourhood should also focus on the availability of public spaces like parks, walking tracks, gymnasium and different types of fitness centres. It is ideal for a housing society to have one of these facilities in each of its blocks as we see in the case of many popular neighbourhoods in the capital city, which is why there is a long list of popular urban open spaces, fitness centres and gyms in Islamabad.
Shopping Centres
Shopping for grocery and medical supplies is usually a routine activity for most of the households in the country. This is why having a shopping centre nearby is what makes a neighbourhood ideal for homebuyers in Pakistan. However, shopping for clothes and other types of accessories is also one of the most famous leisure activities for people in the country. If we talk about the city of lights, it has spots spread all around it. This is why shopping centres in Karachi are famous all over Pakistan. So, if you are mulling property investment in Karachi for residential purposes, then DHA, Karachi would be an ideal neighbourhood for you in this regard as shopping destinations like the Forum Mall, Dolmen Mall, Clifton, Imtiaz Supermarket and Gulf Shopping Centre fall in its proximity.
Parking Space
Finding a suitable space to park your car can be a big hassle, especially if you have chosen to live within the urban centre of a big city in Pakistan. However, we have also discussed this pointer in detail in our blog on the pros and cons of living near the city centre. So, before moving to a new neighbourhood make sure you find a suitable place to park your car or if there is a designated parking space nearby your home at a distance of a few-minute walk. However, apartment high-rises these days have multiple stories dedicated to vehicle parking to tackle this growing challenge. These parking spaces usually have CCTV cameras to monitor the safety of vehicles. So, if parking is one of the major things you are worried about your new neighbourhood, then you should consider buying a home in one of the modern apartment complexes.
This was our comprehensive checklist of things to consider before moving to a new neighbourhood. We hope it will help you come up with an informed decision. If you have any useful tips to share in this regard, feel free to email us at blog@zameen.com. We love it when our readers get in touch with us.
Investing In Pakistan’s Best Neighbourhoods
For real estate investment in Pakistan, go for investing in the three largest and most popular cities in Pakistan: Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. These cities offer you some of the poshest neighbourhoods in the country. Meanwhile, here is a complete list of top areas in multiple cities across Pakistan for your reference.
To read about more opportunities related to real estate investment in Pakistan, head over to Zameen Blog, the country’s leading property and lifestyle blog. Subscribe to our email newsletter shown on the top-right corner of the screen and keep following us on key social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.
