Today, when one is thinking about purchasing real estate, not only the price range, the condition and the investment are important, but so is the location. The location of your real estate property is very important since this is where you will live with you family or where you will rent to another family.

Many people have a hard time trying to decide where to buy a home. Should it be in a big city such as New York City or Los Angeles, in the country like Holmes County, Ohio (home of the Amish), or in a smaller town such as Charleston, South Carolina? Rather you want to live in a big city where there is plenty of nightlife, or you want to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone or something in between, find the right location to purchase real estate can be difficult.

When you begin to think about a location where you want to purchase your real estate property, you must first think about a general location. This will be a personal preference. Do you want to live in the big city where there is a lot of hustle and bustle, noise, and a faster pace of living or would you like to live in a quiet corner of the country where there is little noise and people live at a slower pace. Maybe you want something in between. Which ever area is your preference, it must be the first step you take in deciding where to buy real estate.

Once you have decided on the general area, you can then compare a list of cities that are located with in that area. During this step, you want to look at the cities closely. What types of schools, libraries and churches are available in this town? Is there a hospital or doctor close by? How far is it from neighboring towns and cities? What is the population? You may even want to go visit your chosen town for a few days to actually see what is available and if it would be a place where you would want to live. Once you have decided on a city, you are then ready to begin seeking your property.

Today, many people are leaving the bigger cities and seeking homes in the cities suburbs. A lot of people work in the big cities, but when it comes to living, they prefer to live the big city for the quiet life of a smaller town or country. In the larger cities today, the crime rate is rising, the noise and pollution levels are exceeding reasonable limits and the cost of living in the city is rising. Therefore, the idea of a quite life without the threat of crime, noise, pollution or higher cost of living is attracting people from all walks of life all over the country.

According to Money Magazine, the best places to live in the United States are smaller towns that are suburbs of large cities. These include; Moorestown, New Jersey, Bainbridge Island, Washington, Harperville, Illinois, Vienna, Virginia, and Louisville, Colorado. (www.cnnmoney.com). Out of the top 100 best places to live in the United States, no larger cities were mentioned. Most were smaller cities or country areas.

Buying a house is difficult. However, by defining and analyzing the location where you would like to purchase real estate, some of the difficulty can be eliminated. Finding the right location is just as important as the cost, the maintenance, the investment and the closing. Be sure you choose a location that best fits your needs.

Resources http://homebuying.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=homebuying&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2Fbest%2Fbplive%2F CNN Money Online. Retrieved April 1, 2006.