April 3, 2015 by Anas Mustafa
When you are moving your family, there are many factors that you will want to consider. Luckily, the modern era has made it much easier to find out everything you could want to know about a prospective neighbourhood before moving in.
Using online resources, it’s now possible to easily compare neighbourhoods by finding out which ones are located in the best school districts, have the best standardized test scores, or even have the best parental reviews. Proximity to parks, attractions, and amenities as well as environmental hazards can also be found online.
One of the main concerns of any parent is going to be the safety of their new neighbourhood, and there are several online resources that can help you choose the safest place to raise your children.
Crime Rates
An essential indicator of a neighbourhood’s safety, crime rates provide a wide variety of information about how often crimes occur as well as what types of crime are most common. Open access crime databases allow you to sort by hours of the day, crime category, and violent vs non-violent crimes.
There are two main resources that you will want to make use of in order to easily compare crime rates between neighbourhoods:
The interactive crime map hosted by the CBC provides a heat map displaying the density of crime reports across various areas and neighbourhoods throughout Toronto. It allows you to sort for various types of crime and compare violent and non-violent crimes across various hours of the day.
This interactive map of Ontario provides information about registered sex offenders and other criminals with information on where they live. This allows you to search for a specific address or postal code and see criminals living within a certain radius of your potential home, a key consideration before making any purchases.
Drug Labs & Grow Ops
The RCMP also maintains an online database that contains warnings for areas in which houses have been or may currently be used as grow ops or drug labs.
Most methamphetamine labs are located in houses because it’s easier to cover the operation. Once discovered and shut down, the home is eventually placed back on the market and often sold to unsuspecting buyers. While these homes are not always dangerous, they may be contaminated by flammable, toxic, or explosive materials which can affect your health and the health of your family. Ensure a thorough inspection is completed before considering one of these properties.
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