Deciding to sell your home can seem very daunting. After all, the decision of which home to buy is very important — and typically, when you’re selling your home, you’re also buying a home at around the same time. Coordinating all that is difficult. While this is all true, knowing when to sell is actually a lot simpler than knowing what to buy.
Many of the reasons to sell are primarily personal. Do you need to upsize because you have a kid coming soon? Are you ready to downsize because your kids have moved out? Did you switch jobs? It all pretty much boils down to: Does your current location no longer serve your changing needs? If that’s the case, it probably is a good time to sell, as long as the market isn’t tanked. Much of the time, even your finances are better served in a home that caters to your needs than a slightly less expensive home that simply doesn’t work for you.
Sometimes the reasons are purely practical. If maintenance starts piling up, keeping up with it can be both more expensive and more time consuming than switching to a lower maintenance property. This can be one that doesn’t require as many, or any, repairs, or just a property that is smaller or easier to maintain. It’s also possible in any given moment that the numbers just simply make sense. Maybe your home value has risen, and you know you can sell and purchase a property with a better fit at a similar or lower price. Recognizing this does require keeping a critical eye on the market, and acting on it requires adaptability and a willingness to let go of any sentimental feelings about your current property.
Some people sell their houses before buying others, giving them clear budgets for their next places. It makes financial sense, but there’s the risk that you might end up couch surfing or having to rent somewhere in the meantime. Others buy first, locking in their dream homes before they’re snatched up, but that can mean carrying two mortgages at once. So is there a way to eliminate both issues, by both buying and selling simultaneously?
Absolutely. It will take some planning and help from an agent, but you can definitely buy and sell at the same time. The key is timing. Your agent will help align your sale with your purchase. You may have to negotiate a rent-back deal or a flexible closing date. It’s also smart to get preapproved for a mortgage early so you know what’s realistic. And if you need a financial cushion, options like bridge loans or home equity lines of credit can help you cover gaps between buying and selling. It’s something that requires both planning and flexibility on the part of both you and your agent, but it’s certainly a viable option. As an added bonus, it’s also faster than finishing out two separate deals.
If you feel like the atmosphere in a room isn’t giving the vibe you want, the problem may be the paint color. Before starting renovations or buying a bunch of decor, consider repainting the walls or ceiling. That may be all you need to provide the feeling you’re looking for.
White paint can help to create the illusion that you’re in a larger space. This is true of both walls and ceilings, giving the feeling that there is more space above your head as well as around you. By contrast, darker colors have the opposite effect. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Using dark but warm colors with a slight red tinge can help to bring a cozier, more compact feel to a large, cavernous space. Cool colors have a calming effect. This is especially true if they’re softer or muted. Try something like an ocean blue or a leafy green.
Sometimes you want something to stand out or fade into the background. In either case, what’s important is not a specific color, but how much the colors contrast. Features with colors that are high contrast with the wall color will stand out quite a bit. If the colors are less contrastive, objects can appear like they’re simply part of the background. Depending on your situation and what the feature is that you’re focusing on, it might be possible to repaint that feature, instead of entire walls or ceilings.
Any time you’re looking to buy a home, you want to know exactly what it is you’re buying. That doesn’t only mean knowing information about the building itself, but also being familiar with the neighborhood. While it’s true that the seller will have to disclose major issues with the property, there could be problems that don’t need to be disclosed.
When someone is selling a home, there’s always a reason for that. The reason could be entirely innocuous — such as changing jobs or moving in with a new partner — but it could also be that the home has deferred maintenance or that the crime rate in the area is spiking. Ask about what repairs and renovations have been done and should be done. Ensure you know about all potential issues, not just the ones that legally must be disclosed. Consider the neighborhood, including crime rates, amenities, and schools, as well as future plans such as upcoming developments, zoning changes, and road work.
Even if there’s nothing wrong with the property or the area, there could be some unwanted surprises. It’s difficult to consider every possible factor in the cost of owning a home, but one that people often forget about is utility costs. These typically aren’t high, but you still need to budget for it. You also need to ask the seller what’s included in the sale. It’s not uncommon that things such as furniture and appliances aren’t included. Once you’ve decided to buy a home, there’s still more useful information. Learn about the state of the market — what prices are like, how competitive the market is right now, how long properties usually stay on the market before selling. Having this knowledge could give you an edge in negotiating.
Proximity to one’s workplace is often near the top of the list of priorities for buyers. While living close to where you work can offer convenience and save time, there are both pros and cons. The correct choice for you is the one that best fits your lifestyle and long-term goals. Consider ranking your priorities to see how important a short commute is to your situation.
It goes without saying that one of the biggest advantages of buying near your workplace is the reduced commute time. Less time spent in traffic and more time for family, hobbies, or rest can improve your overall quality of life and reduce stress. Additionally, living nearby can make it easier to handle unexpected work demands or emergencies.
That’s not the only potential advantage, though. Many workplaces are in commercial districts, which would mean they are also close to amenities, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. There is also a long-term advantage to living in commercial districts — consistent demand means home values won’t tank. If these other factors are important to you, it may be beneficial to live near your workplace, even if a short commute isn’t high on your list of priorities, perhaps because you work from home all or part of the time.
Living in a major commercial area has its downsides, too, though. They’re frequently dirtier and noisier than residential districts. In addition, the resistance to economic downturns means homes closer to major employment centers or urban areas often come with a higher price tag. This means your budget might be tighter or you may need to compromise on home size or features.
Spring and summer are the most common times to buy or sell a home, but that doesn’t mean the autumn market is without its advantages. And the advantages aren’t exclusive to either buyers or sellers. Both parties can benefit, though the seller might need to put more thought into the right way to attract buyers.
There are a couple major perks for buyers. The first is reduced competition. Because there is less activity in the fall compared to spring or summer, there are fewer other buyers competing with you for the property you want. This means more room for negotiation on prices or repairs. The second is that autumn typically has quicker closing times, so you don’t need to wait as long before moving in. However, you should be careful not to neglect heating, window, and roof maintenance. Winter will be fast approaching, and you don’t want to rush these repairs, especially if your area gets snow.
If you’re a seller, you can probably expect more serious buyers in the fall. People don’t look for homes in the slower seasons without a reason for doing so. The good thing about this is that you likely aren’t wasting your time or money showing your property to them, as long as you’ve set the right price. The difficulty is that more serious buyers are looking for exactly the right property for them. That means the seller needs to put in more effort to make the home look presentable. Fortunately, merely getting ready for the holiday season tends to do just that. Whether you’re showing your home or not, you might have already planned to make your home more inviting for holiday guests.
Investment property is typically thought of as something owned by people with significant amounts of wealth to throw around. While it’s true that investment by definition requires an upfront cost, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a big cost. Furthermore, it’s possible for your investment to be in a property you plan to live in as well, so you aren’t forced to buy multiple homes to invest.
Long-term investments, which rely on home values appreciating over time, don’t have to be costly at all, particularly if you plan to live there anyway. Foreclosures and auction sales are generally significantly lower price than the average home in any particular area. However, you should be careful about repair costs — homeowners whose homes are on foreclosure or auction typically couldn’t afford to keep their homes, which means they often also have deferred maintenance. You could also look in up-and-coming neighborhoods that aren’t pricey yet, but might be in the future.
Alternatively, there are strategies to reduce the upfront cost of purchasing a home. These include government programs to aid first time homebuyers, enlisting the help of other investors, or utilizing seller financing. Seller financing involves making monthly payments directly to the seller of a home instead of to a lender. Because it’s rarely advantageous for the seller and benefits greatly from knowledge of legal procedures, this is not a common financing method. But if the seller agrees to it, it can help to waive large down payment requirements, and possibly even grant a better interest rate. You might also choose not to purchase an entire home, but just part of one — a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) involves trading a percentage of a property on the stock exchange.
One of the most common strategies is actually quite simple. Just buy a home and rent out part of it, while living in it. This is called house hacking, and is usually done with multi-unit properties such as duplexes and triplexes. But if you can’t afford a multi-unit property, you can also buy a single-family residence and rent out specific rooms. This won’t generate as much income as renting out entire units, but frequently has a lower upfront cost.
When you start looking for a new home, some of the things that might jump out to you immediately are first impressions from the outside and the numerical square footage value. But these don’t tell you anything about what living in the home is like. For that, you’ll need to look at the rooms individually to see if they suit your needs.
The most important rooms are the rooms you’ll spend the most time in. For most people, these will include the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. It might include other rooms depending on your lifestyle, such as the living room if you plan to frequently host guests, or a home office if you work from home. The home you’re looking at might have a large dining area, but if you live alone and don’t frequently host, that could be taking space away that would be better used elsewhere. It’s possible you could convert rooms, but that may potentially make for an awkward floorplan. Space is limited, even if the square footage is high. Make sure the space is in the right places. Also, kitchens and bathrooms are some of the most expensive remodels. It might not be worth buying a home that needs all new bathrooms but otherwise looks fine.
If you want to know if a particular neighborhood is right for you to move to, you first need to know what to look for. Start by making a list of priorities. If you have kids or are planning to soon, you may want to research the local school district. But if you don’t have kids, perhaps a short work commute is more important. Maybe you want to live in a place with a vibrant community or plenty of local shops and entertainment, or maybe you just want a quiet neighborhood where you can feel relaxed. Regardless of what you’re looking for, make sure to be thorough in your search. Visit several times, at different times of the day. A neighborhood may feel nice in the afternoon, but have grueling rush hour traffic in the morning or feel dark and dangerous at night.
Regardless of where you rank your personal priorities, pretty much everyone wants to live in a safe area. Researching crime rates can help determine the level of a neighborhood’s safety. You can find this information online using crime maps or community forums, and also from local police department reports. Also, keep in mind that no community is entirely free of crime, some types of crime may be more or less prevalent than others depending on the area, and crime rates can shift over time. In addition, you may not think schools are relevant to you if you don’t have kids, but good local schools will also mean higher property values and better educated neighbors.
You might take for granted that certain types of indispensable locations –such as grocery stores and hospitals — exist in an area, but even if they’re accessible, they may not be close by. For less mandatory amenities such as entertainment venues, parks, and even libraries, there may not be any at all. Some towns also don’t have easy access to freeways, which could considerably increase commute times even if the linear distance doesn’t seem that far. However, some of these may already be in the works — make sure to check local news and city planning websites. If everything else about the community seems great, you may just have to live without for a while until construction is complete.
Imagine you’ve been searching for a new property, and you happen across a low priced home that seems to fit all your criteria. Is the deal too good to be true? Well, maybe, maybe not. It’s possible that you’ve come across a hidden gem, but it’s also possible that you’re missing some key factors.
You may have just gotten lucky with your timing — in which case, congratulations. The market fluctuates all the time, and it could be that home prices in the area you’re looking at are currently at or near a trough. If you aren’t sure, an agent can help you figure out local market trends.
Speaking of the local market, you should also ask your agent about the surrounding community. Maybe it has a high crime rate, low rated schools, or a weak job market, in which case a higher priced home in a better area may be preferable. In addition, if the home is in a low priced neighborhood, it’s entirely possible that all the homes in the area are cheap, and this one isn’t an exception — it may even be priced too high.
But if you didn’t simply get lucky or end up in a low priced area, there may be something about the property that you’re not seeing. The home may look fine at a casual glance, but there could be hidden problems with the property’s condition. Sellers are supposed to disclose issues that they’re aware of, and they probably know something if they’re choosing to list low, but they may not know everything. An inspection can help you uncover these. It’s also possible the home price itself is reasonable, but you aren’t accounting for additional costs such as property taxes, insurance costs, or homeowners association fees.
You may be inclined to think that if a property isn’t listed, it’s not for sale. Most of the time that’s true, but there are exceptions. Homes for sale that aren’t listed publicly may be called off-market properties, pocket listings, or quiet listings. There are multiple reasons for this, but regardless of the reason, finding these properties quickly can earn you an advantage when trying to buy.
The easiest way to find these properties is with someone else’s help — usually an agent, but investors and builders likely have connections as well. Someone with connections in the industry might know of an opportunity for you already without any searching. Even if they don’t, they can help you search. Agents can search for properties that are “coming soon” — ones that aren’t officially on the market yet, but will be once the listing is finalized. They can also help you find probate sales, pre-foreclosures, and inherited homes. Some agents even specialize in helping clients navigate the legal intricacies of these types of sales.
Sometimes you want to talk to the homeowner directly — though an agent can still help you with this. Agents with a client who is looking to buy will frequently send out letters to owners of properties that fit the buyer’s specifications. Homeowners might be considering selling but either haven’t decided yet or don’t want to list publicly. These letters help to find homeowners in this type of situation. You might also come across a home that is For Sale By Owner, commonly abbreviated FSBO. This means that the homeowner is planning to sell without the assistance of an agent, or sometimes is an agent themself. These properties probably won’t be listed on an agent’s listing service, but an agent can still help you with the transaction if you’re able to discover one.
Selling your home as-is means listing it in its current condition without making repairs or upgrades. This approach isn’t for everyone, but it can save you time, reduce your up-front costs and speed up the selling process. That said, it’s important to know that you’ll likely need to accept a lower price and potentially a smaller pool of buyers. Here are a few ways to help make the process easier.
Before listing your home, make sure you and the prospective buyers know exactly the condition of your home and have a good idea of its value. For most sales, a home inspection only occurs after an offer is made. However, you should consider a pre-listing inspection. It gives potential buyers a clear understanding of the home’s condition, which builds trust and can lead to quicker offers. This also helps you to disclose any known issues up front to avoid legal issues later. Buyers will also appreciate the honesty, and serious ones are more likely to stick around.
You should also work with a good agent to determine a fair price based on market conditions and the home’s condition before listing the property. Listing a home at one price and significantly altering it later can look like either dishonest or shoddy work. You and your agent can also collaborate to highlight your home’s best attributes. Does your home have a fantastic location, rustic charm or positive quirks? Make sure those positives shine in your listing.
Another tip is that even if you don’t make full repairs,small improvements go a long way. Clean thoroughly, declutter, and consider a fresh coat of paint to help your home make the best impression. As-is means as it was when listed, not as it was when you decided you wanted to list. Don’t feel like you can’t improve anything in the meantime. Besides, new paint is a plus that can be added to your listing description.
The real estate market in the Los Angeles South Bay kicked off 2025 with an 11% increase in the number of residences sold for January. That increase in sales volume was accompanied by median price bumps that ranged from 0% in the Inland area to 32% in the Beach cities.
Fast forward to May, almost halfway through the year, and the sales volume has dropped to a 7% increase over May of last year. With the number of homes selling declining, the median prices have likewise moved from the positive side to the negative. Comparing the median prices to May of last year shows prices falling in three of the four South Bay areas. Only the Beach cities managed to stay positive with a 9% increase, albeit compared to 32% in January. The other three areas dropped by as much as 8%. (See below for more detail.)
This South Bay Market Snapshot shows where the market is shifting and by how much. It’s designed to help clients understand the direction of the market. Those who watch the market trend will see increasing larger chunks of real estate market are sliding toward recession either in the number of homes sold for a given period, or correspondingly dropping in median price. The mid-year report next month should provide a more definitive comment on the future of local real estate.
Beach: Still Up, but …?
May was not a good month for real estate in the Beach cities, but it was better than last May. The month over month statistics are red ink, with the number of homes sold dropping by 2% and the median price falling 3% from April. Sales volume came in at 122 units, compared to 125 in April. The median price was $1,900,000 down from $1,955,000 last month.
Annual sales volume was more impressive at 11% increase in the number of homes sold. Similarly, the median price at the Beach escalated by a relatively high 9%, compared to the other areas of the South Bay.
Year to date, 541 homes have sold in the Beach area, 25% greater than the first five months of 2024. At $2,000,000 the median price surprises, since the median month to month is only $1,900,000. How could the median for the year to date, be higher? Well, looking at the past few months shows Beach area prices started the year much higher than they are now. In fact, the median in January was $2,355,000—almost $400,000 higher than May. Beach area median prices have been falling every month this year.
Harbor: Sales Slipping, Prices Down
Month over month, sales volume in the Harbor area dropped by 5%, from 310 homes in April to 293 in May. Surprisingly, the median price climbed from $785,000 to $815,000, for a boost of 4%.
Comparing this May to the same month last year gives similarly mixed results, though in reverse. While monthly home sales found May lower than April, annual sales were up 2% from May of 2024. In the same time frame, median prices fell 4% across the year.
For January through May of 2025 the number of home sold rose 6% from last year, for a total of 1373 properties closing escrow. During the same period of time the median price rose 1%, ending at $785,000.
Hill: Sales Solid, Prices Down
Home sales on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for the month of May delivered an increase of 1%, totaling 74 homes. In May, the median price likewise went up, reaching $1,850,000, or 4% more than those sold in April.
Looking at sales volume year over year shows a more varied picture. Last month compared to May of 2024 offers a 12% increase in the number of homes sold. At the same time, the median price tumbled by 5%. One should always be cautioned that with the small number of transactions in peninsula homes, percentages often seem exaggerated, thus it’s important to look at the year to date statistics, too.
For the first five months of 2025 275 homes were sold on the Hill, boosting sales volume by 7% over that of 2024. While the volume came up, the median price went down. At $1,897,000 the median dropped by 2%. It would seem a correction was in the making, though that’s based on memory of other financial “compressions” in recent years.
Inland: Median Prices Continue Down
Monthly sales statistics brought a 12% jump in homes sold in the Inland area. This increase is easily the steepest in the South Bay for May. The next closest rise in sales was the Palos Verdes area with a 1% bump over April volume. The 143 homes sold at a median price of $870,000, a 1% drop from the April median.
The Inland area joined the Hill in yearly sales increases. Both areas registered a 12% jump in volume, coming in at the top, with the South Bay as a whole rising by only 7%. Continuing a trend started in March, Inland median prices once again fell, this time registering the steepest drop across the South Bay, falling 8% below last year’s May numbers.
As the calendar barrels toward mid-year Inland sales volume for the year to date has climbed 5% over 2024 to 575 homes sold. Median prices for the same period rose a very modest $10, settling at $900,000, effectively a 0% increase.
Beach=Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo Harbor=Carson, Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City PV Hill=Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates Inland=Torrance, Lomita, Gardena
One cost that many new homebuyers forget to factor into their budget is moving costs. It may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the purchase price of a house, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. Between packaging, transportation, and potentially needing to take unpaid time off work, the expenses can add up. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce those costs.
Individually, boxes aren’t very expensive. However, when you’re moving everything in your house, you may need dozens of them. Try to pack up everything you won’t be using anytime soon in advance, to have a better gauge of how many boxes you’ll need. This also gives you time to look for used boxes — most people don’t need their boxes anymore after moving and end up recycling them, but some will put them up on places such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. In addition, even new, buying them in bulk is generally cheaper per unit. Another tip is that grocery stores and retailers often don’t have a use for the boxes their products ship in, and may even be willing to give them up for free.
Some moving companies will offer packing services, but this can ramp up the labor costs. And if you’re packing ahead of time, you’ll need to have your own packing materials. Luckily, you probably already have packing materials and don’t know it. Packing peanuts aren’t actually any more effective than soft clothing, towels, or blankets. Using them as packaging material instead of packing them separately also means you’ll be using fewer boxes. For fragile objects, wrap them in newspaper –if you still subscribe to any print newspapers, despite many newspapers now being online-only.
The biggest cost is often transportation. Renting a moving truck is expensive by itself, and you will also likely need to pay the labor costs for bringing your boxes into and out of the truck, as well as gas costs. Ask friends or family members if you can borrow their truck. You should probably still offer to pay for gas and food, but it would still be a small fraction of the cost.
Having a roof over your head is important, but that’s certainly not the only benefit to homeownership. While renting may be cheaper in the short term, it’s certainly more expensive in the long term. That doesn’t even get into tax advantages and equity building, which are further financial benefits of owning a home. There are also non-financial benefits. When you’re a homeowner, changes you make to your living space don’t need to be approved by a landlord, and you can bring whoever you want into your home, including pets. Owning a home is also less stressful because you don’t have to worry about getting evicted or priced out of your home because the owner decided to sell it.
Fortunately for those of you looking to achieve homeownership, there are resources available. The HUD, the National Association of REALTORS®, and Habitat for Humanity all offer programs for first-time buyers as well as low-income buyers. In addition, local communities and real estate professionals share resources and host events to educate prospective homebuyers. Such events are also more common during the month of June, because it is National Homeownership Month.
One of the big concerns parents have when moving is whether their children will be able to make new friends. For children, though, making friends typically comes naturally as they meet classmates or neighbors their age, whether they have anything in common or not. There’s often a bigger struggle for adults, as routines and commitments can get in the way, and adults usually aren’t exposed to as many people every day. So when you find yourself in a new place, it can be difficult to make new friends with the alacrity one could as a child. Adults have to make a conscious effort to find new friends. Here are some tips to help make that happen.
Find interest-based meetups. Whatever your hobbies or interests, if you live in a city, you can bet that there’ll be a public meetup group where like-minded folk can mingle. Whether it’s birdwatching, fantasy movies or trainspotting, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find others following the same pursuits.
Volunteer for causes you’re passionate about. If you believe strongly in a cause, volunteering in that field will bring you into contact with others who share your passion. Working as a team to evoke change in any environment will bring you into contact with people you share common ground with.
Use your current friend network. If you already get on well with someone, it’s pretty likely that you’ll get along with other people in their circle. Ask a friend for recommendations for new people you can hang out with. Be specific: for example, ask if they know anyone you could play tennis with.
Join classes. If dancing is your thing, find a local dance class. If you’re a fitness fanatic, join a spin class. If you feel your culinary skills are rusty, find a cookery class. Think about things you’ve always wanted to try but never had the chance to; most adult classes will usually have some kind of social element.
Conventional wisdom dictates that large spaces that can be adapted to multiple functions, such as extra bedrooms, are the best way to draw a large variety of buyers. But if you know exactly what buyers are looking for, you don’t need a variety — just someone who’s very interested. And right now, what many buyers are interested in is a personal home library.
Obviously, a bedroom can be turned into a library. But for many people, that’s a waste of space, because they’re not going to use most of it. Buyers are wanting small, cozy spaces where they can relax with a good book or focus on a task without any distractions. If the space is too large, the homeowners might feel compelled to make it a multifunctional room in order to make the most of the space. This isn’t necessarily an issue, but would certainly make it difficult to concentrate.
An extra bedroom may still have more resale value in the end, but resale value doesn’t matter if you can’t get your home sold. There’s been a shift in priority towards homes that suit individual needs and can express personal aesthetics, so that buyers can feel comfortable in their new homes, rather than simply treating it as a roof over their head or cash in the future. This is especially true for high-end buyers, who can afford to be more picky about what they’re looking for.
If one of your priorities when looking for a home is a backyard or other outdoor space, you’re probably taking the size of the outdoor space into consideration when making decisions. However, you shouldn’t necessarily discount smaller outdoor spaces. It’s possible that a smaller space is perfectly suitable to your needs. First think about what you intend to use the space for — a small backyard may not work for large gatherings, but can be effective for personal relaxation.
If you know you have sufficient space but are worried about the space looking and feeling small, there are plenty of ways to fix that. Ambient lighting can make any space feel larger or more inviting than it is. Or sometimes the outdoor space feels smaller because it lacks certain features that you’d expect, such as a deck or patio, but perhaps there’s room to add one. You could also potentially connect a backyard and side yard into one, larger L-shaped yard. Another method to fool your senses is to use smaller or foldable furniture, which offers cozy places to sit without crowding the space.
Maximizing the available space isn’t just about perceptions, though. It also requires planning out the best way to use the space. Flower beds and lawns tend to take up a lot of the backyard, so consider different types of landscaping. Landscaping that fits in smaller spaces is also typically easier to maintain. You should also think vertically. No matter the size of your yard, it can be expanded upward. Hanging planters and trellises don’t take up much space on the ground. You can also add shelves and place plants in rows and columns. Vertical gardening is also multifunctional — raised garden beds can be benches; shelves can also be bookcases; trellises can be attached to a privacy fence; plants can hang from light fixtures.
If you’ve just moved into a new home, you might be considering a housewarming party. But you may not know what that looks like. Luckily, there are many different kinds of housewarming parties, and there’s bound to be an idea that an appeals to you. Here are just a few suggestions — but don’t feel limited to these, if you have ideas of your own.
If your new home has a great outdoor entertainment area, you may want to show it off, assuming weather permits. You could have a relaxed picnic in your backyard, or you could end the night by toasting marshmallows over a bonfire.
For those of you who just want to drink and be merry, there are a couple different options. You could set up a cocktail bar in your own home or ask guests to bring their favorites. If you want the focus to be on your new neighborhood, you could instead check out local beverages and host a drink tasting.
Maybe fun and games is more your vibe. Board game nights are a popular family tradition, and it doesn’t hurt to get new neighbors in on the action — they may even become regulars at your table. You could also turn exploring your new home into a competition. Organize a treasure hunt and give prizes to the winners.
Are you the artsy type? Maybe your neighbors are too. DIY arts and crafts are a good way for people to get to know each other without feeling like they need to socialize. Gifting your neighbors cookies is common, whether you’re the new neighbor or the old one — but why not make it more personal? Invite your neighbors over to decorate cookies, then share them with each other.
Moving to a completely new area is exciting, but the early days can also feel isolating. Finding your community is the key to feeling at home, and luckily, there are plenty of ways to do just that. Here’s how to start making connections in your new neighborhood.
Simple as it may sound, one of the best ways is to just get out there. Get to know your physical surroundings. You don’t even need a plan — take a walk or bike ride with no specific destination, and you’ll soon come across the local coffee spots, parks and community centers where people hang out. If you feel like you need a friend to help you along the way, introduce yourself to your neighbors. Most people appreciate a friendly new face. This is even something you could do before buying a new place, to make sure the community is right for you.
You could also go with a more structured route. Look for clubs, sports leagues or hobby groups that match your interests. If there are none to your usual taste, endeavor to try something new. Whether it’s a book club, yoga class or local volunteer group, shared activities help forge friendships faster. Perhaps there isn’t a regular group that appeals to you, but many towns host local festivals, farmers’ markets and outdoor concerts. While these won’t occur as often, these types of gatherings can still offer a relaxed way to meet your neighbors and learn a bit more about local life. Keep an eye on social media or your town’s local website or forums for upcoming events.
Speaking of social media, it’s also a perfectly acceptable method of finding local people, not only events. Online social media platforms such as Nextdoor, Meetup or local Facebook groups can connect you with people nearby. Many communities have online groups for newcomers, making it easy to ask for recommendations and join in on local happenings.
