How to find Area reputation

[JKK]

I'm currently searching for house and i'm thinking of moving out of my home town.
Is there a way i can findout the reputations of an area?
Like a search function and it gives you peoples views on the area etc.

Cheers

[brian]

Opinions will simply be opinions - that's a key problem.

[googler]

Find out the local papers at your target area - look for them online, and browse/google search for stories with keywords like 'ASBO' 'court', etc

I seem to recall upmystreet has some comment or rating system for areas.

Zoopla has also started up something similar, but it's fairly new and might not have any meaningful comments yet.

[drhouse]

If you see an area you like drove round it at differnt times of day and at weekends if possible. Speak to people in local shops etc.

[brian]

Something you'll need to be aware of is that different areas may be perceived differently by different people. I remember when I was a student being warned that a new place I was renting was in a very rough area. However, living there for a year, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the place that stood out - excepting that it was a high immigration area, which set off local prejudices.

If you're looking to move to a new town, you're probably better off renting for a while first, to give you a better idea of the area in general - not simply reputation, but also amenities, etc.

After all, if you buy a property in a new town without knowing much about the place, you are stuck with your purchase whether you like it or not. If you rent, it allows you to build up an informed opinion.

The property market being in decline at present certainly means you have little to lose out to by renting.

Just 2c.

[Ownerhome]

try this site...neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk (sorry can't post url!). It gives you info taken from Office of National Statistics such as crime data, education, health etc. It helped us when we decided to move to North Yorkshire.
Also have a drive around the area you plan on moving to at various times during the day...especially evening when the ASBO crowd tend to crawl out of their pits