Opposite end of the same street. Apologies to the OP for not crediting you.
Often, when we’re buying a home, we’re focused completely on how our new home is fitted out, how new the appliances are and how big the home office is.
Naturally, almost the entire focus is on the living space and if the street outside if less than optimum, then it will be fine, won’t it?
I came across the picture above and it really spoke to me about the thought we want to put into how we want to live as well as where. The image shows the temperature gradient on a hot day between a tree lined street and a street with minimal foliage. Here’s the most interesting part; it’s opposite ends of the same street.
No big deal, you may say to yourself when you think of your own place – if you’re like me ( in Vancouver ) then the few really hot days we get are not a bother. Besides, there’s air conditioning for the places with no trees.
Well, that’s very true, but what about the cost for the AC or worse, how much extra are the heating costs in winter?
When we moved into our place many, many moons ago, we thought a lot about the neighbourhood as well as our home itself. We had a list of things we wanted outside the home as well as all the other stuff. There was an almost new dog park a couple of blocks away, the liquor store was 3 blocks closer than our last place and work was walking distance for both of us and it was quiet for a downtown neighbourhood. The only real street traffic was a bus passing every 25 minutes until 10.
The only thing we didn’t plan for was the increased traffic and street noise, especially after the mini mall across the street became a townhouse complex whose high wall reflects the sound of a neighbouring busy street.
Don’t get me wrong, its still a great spot, but its better now with the windows closed.
I know it seems silly to say this in a time when offers are flung over the internet at light speed; but it’s good to walk the neighbourhood and think, ‘what if?’, before your realtor presses send on that offer. Maybe with the market slowing down as it has will give you the opportunity to do so. You won’t regret it.
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