Choosing an area — five questions to ask yourself

Most people start with a budget and a number of bedrooms. The better starting point is your week.

1. Where do you go most days?

Work, school, family. Mark them on a map. The area that minimises those trips is usually worth more to you than an extra room.

2. What time do you travel?

A fifteen-minute drive at ten in the morning can be forty-five at eight. Test the route at the hour you would really use it.

3. What do you need within walking distance?

Groceries, a clinic, somewhere to eat late. Decide which of these matter, and check them on foot.

4. How long will you stay?

For a year, convenience matters most. For five, think about what is being built nearby and how the area is changing.

5. What would make you leave?

Flooding, noise, parking, a long climb with shopping. Everyone has one thing they cannot live with. Name yours, and ask about it directly.

Then look at places

With those answers, a shortlist of two or three areas usually appears on its own. Now the photos become useful.