From staff reports
Suburb or city, a prevailing number of participants in a recent survey said their dream neighborhood is somewhere quiet.
The survey, which was conducted by Improvenet, asked more than 2,000 Americans about their ideal neighborhood, and what their dream neighborhood looks like.
The top five things respondents required in an ideal neighborhood? Grocery stores, parking, good public schools, dining options, and a farmers’ market.
They also wanted to be close to work.
“Not surprisingly, commute time is an essential consideration for working adults dreaming of the perfect neighborhood,” the survey said. “On average, our respondents said 14 minutes is the ideal commute time, and 28 minutes is the longest a commute can be for a neighborhood to retain a dreamy status.”
Thirty-three percent said their dream neighborhood is in a quiet suburb near a city, while 25 percent said they’d prefer to live in a quiet part of big city. Twenty-four percent said they’d rather live in a bustling suburb near a city, while 10 percent said they’d prefer to live further out, and only eight percent said they wanted to live in the middle of a big city.
Twenty-five percent said they lived within 10 miles of their dream neighborhood. More than 50 percent said their dream neighborhood is in a nearby town, but only 30 percent actually live in their dream neighborhood.
“At the end of our survey, we asked one crucially important question, applicable to all ages and incomes, people from cities and suburbs alike, and to both those living in their dream neighborhood and those still seeking it: do you make an effort to improve your current neighborhood?,” said Improvenet. “Forty-one percent of respondents said no, they don’t make any effort; 59 percent said yes.”
Those who said they did listed things like shopping at locally owned businesses (49 percent), cleaning up trash (47 percent), reporting crime (23 percent), volunteered to help or organize a community event (20 percent), and communicating with local officials about issues in their neighborhood (14 percent).
