How to find the best place to buy your next home

I was surprised to see my neighborhood make a local magazine's list of top neighborhoods in my city. You see, our neighborhood wasn't on that list the previous year, and I don't think much has changed. That got me thinking about whether people really make decisions about where to live based on all those lists. You know the ones: best cities to raise a family ... top locations for young professionals ... hottest towns for techies ... most affordable places to retire ... best beaches, and on and on. There's nothing wrong with using a list as a starting point when thinking about where you'd like to live. But I hope you'll dig a little deeper. Spend some time in the area. Talk to the people. Check out the traffic. Experience the shopping and the entertainment-whatever it is that you'll be doing in your new locale. Don't forget to talk with your REALTOR®, too. REALTORS® know cities and neighborhoods as well as anyone. In fact, I'd put them at the top of the list.