Visiting potential communities for attending spot

[SueC]

We're getting ready to start visiting a few of the places that my husband is considering for an attending spot and I have a few questions on stuff to look for in a potential community. Obviously, school districts are a really big deal since our oldest will start kindergarten a few months after he starts a new job. So far, the stuff I have come up with are kids activities (zoos, children's museums, parks, etc.), cultural activities, the real estate market, continuing ed possibilities (in case I decide to pursue a master's degree), outdoor activities (we'd like to get back into hiking, mountain biking sometime in the near future), church (I'd like it to have a church of my denomination), and I'm also concerned about the general safety of the community. Am I missing anything? Other than asking the other spouses if I get to meet them, how do I find all of this information out in one or two days? I have done a lot of research on the net, and found some information through their newspaper, chamber of commerce website, etc., but when I'm actually there, does anyone have any tips about scouting out all of this information? I'm expecting that my husband will be so busy checking out what the practice is like that I'll probably be the one to get all the information on what the community is like. It's kind of exciting really, to finally be at this point! He still has a year and a half left of fellowship, but with the baby coming in the Spring we know we'll be too busy this summer to start the process and he already has a few leads from friends that finished ahead of him so we're going ahead and checking them out now.

Sue,
I'm trying to remember everything that I looked at in putting together the last rank list.
Here are a few sites for you to look at:
http://www.bestplaces.net (high-level information on cities, not terribly specific)
www. greatschools.net (school information, typically assessment scores and such)

One thing I would look at is whether the school district is open enrollment or not. If you are planning to send your girls to public school. As I understand, an open enrollment school district will allow you to go to an elementary school outside of your neighborhood school if they have space available. A school district that doesn't have allow you to do this pretty much requires that your children attend the neighborhood school. We have run into this with our impending move. I'm used to the open enrollment policy here -- and we were probably going to try to get into a near-by school rather than go to the school down the street. However, where we are moving does not allow that and it is really influencing the areas where we are looking at homes.

This may sound silly....but I like to look at the phonebook of places we were looking at. That is one great way to find out about churches/places to worship.
You might want to find out what traffic is like during peak times and think about how long of a commute is reasonable for your husband.
Do you want a gym nearby? A nice rec center? Parks? Library?
I really, really enjoy going to the farmer's market and looked into that. I also wanted to find a good preschool and asked around about that. If you could talk to the spouse of another attending -- or the attending -- I think that is helpful.
If the city is large enough, you could check out a guidebook for that location at the library. That is a great way to find out about activities, restaurants, areas of the city, etc. I have also found a book just about kid/family activities for our current location as well as where we are moving -- that could be helpful.
DH got to know some of the other residents, and in two cases the attendings, at some of the places we were looking at and that helped a great deal. Especially if they have younger kids!

Sounds exciting!

[mommax3]

Some other websites to look at:

http://www.findyourspot.com

http://houseandhome.msn.com/Move/Bes...oLive2003.aspx

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/bestplaces/bplive.jsp

I totally agree about checking the yellow pages....a great resource. Sometimes realtors have books that are a year old and they will let you have them.

Another suggestion is to check and see if the community has any parenting/kids publications.....they are usually free and are available in the entrances of grocery stores......the articles may or may not be helpful, but the ads will give you some insight into the community. Try to get a copy of a Sunday paper, too.....and check the paper's website as well. Also, you may be surprised what you can find online....try typing the name of the community followed by the word "relocation" or the word "family" in your search bar, and see what comes up. For preschools, check the yellow pages, but also check http://www.naeyc.com for preschools accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Most religious denominations have a website that has a directory of all their member churches, as well, so that may help you too.

Hope this all helps! Is New Braunfels still a possibility for you guys?

Sally

Another suggestion is to check and see if the community has any parenting/kids publications.....they are usually free and are available in the entrances of grocery stores......the articles may or may not be helpful, but the ads will give you some insight into the community. Try to get a copy of a Sunday paper, too.....and check the paper's website as well.

The parenting/kids publication is a great idea! I forgot that I used that as well. They have listings of preschools, mom/tot type programs, summer camps for kids, etc. That was actually very helpful to me in one area we were looking at. I realized that the types of activities available for kids was not quite as interesting as other communities. (Granted, this could also be a measure of the publications ability to get advertising or have local resources post their information). As Sally suggested, you can usually find these at the grocery store but kid friendly places, like a children's museum, usually has these out as well.
The newspaper website is a great idea too for finding local activities, restaurant reviews, etc. Getting a copy of the Sunday paper is great -- it gives you an idea what the community is like and what people like to do. You also get the real estate section. We just stumbled across that because the hotel we stayed in gave us a free copy. It was really helpful!

[SueC]

Thanks guys!
Yes, we are still considering New Braunfels. We were going there the weekend after next but my husband just told me he postponed that until May or June. He wants to time it during a warmer month so we can take the girls to Schlitterbaun(sp?). Of course, this summer we'll have baby #3 here so I don't know how realistic that will be, uness we can con a grandparent into coming with us to watch the baby. Darn, I was really looking forward to traveling South sometime in the near future to escape the cold! Is New Braunfels near you, Sally?

[mommax3]

Sadly, no, although it used to be! Schlitterbahn is about 4.5 hours away from where I am now, but was ~half and hour from where we lived in San Antonio during residency. We have been there twice, and I was very pregnant both times and still had fun. It would be great if you could con a grandparent into coming with you, but even if you can't, there are some calmer areas designed for families with babies and small children, so you will have fun. I think they probably have a website if you want to check it out.

Sally