You know how much I LOVE living in downtown Des Moines. I am often asked what it's like living in a bustling downtown area. Many of these folks are ALSO contemplating living downtown. But some tell me that they couldn't live within the city because of "noise" OR "I need a lawn!"
People take a lot of things into consideration when they decide to move to a new neighborhood. Even with all of that, a SURPRISING number of people wind up unhappy with where they choose to live.
A new Trulia survey finds that 36% of those who recently relocated admit they would have moved to a different neighborhood than their current one. Neighborhood regret seems to be highest amongst city dwellers, with 46% saying they would choose a different neighborhood, as compared to 31% of rural and 30% of folks in suburban areas.
So, why are so many people unhappy with where they chose to live? Well, for 28% of people, lack of social activity has left them with neighborhood regret, while 21% are unhappy with street noise, 16% are upset by frequent traffic and another 16% regret the lack of public transportation.
When expressing a concern about living downtown, most people worry about "noise." However, I always hear the buzz as a sign of vibrancy.
Also, never underestimate the happiness caused by cutting down your commute. A lengthy commute is frequently listed as a source of GREAT unhappiness by people and many a caller to my show have detailed how happy they've become after shortening it.