1) Safety, 2) Walking access to grocery stores, restaurants, cinema, shops, downtown etc., 3) Access to transportation

When shopping for a home, I'm constantly trying to gauge how friendly an area is to walkers. So I'd love to see data that shows what the transportation options are, if there are any nifty food options nearby, where the bike paths are, and of course whether I should be outside at all (i.e. crime data). For quality of life purposes, I'd also like to know about any pending or approved developments in the area.

Access to transporation, especially public. Even with a car, I would like to know how to get around town from home using public transit. Correspondingly, the availability of street and public parking would be good to know.

Also, key points of interest would be nice, like libraries, museums, schools, etc.

Number of bakeries in the area would be nice, because I love cookies.

But, mainly crime and tax rates.

Availability of street parking, proximity to work, good grocery stores in the area, such as Trader Joes, and Whole Foods and also smaller local produce stores, at least one coffee shop with wireless, nearby sports club, easy access to freeways and general proximity to downtown and/or other central areas.

Thanks

crime rate
Parking availability free or paid in area where living and safety
public transport options
parks

I want to know about community amenities & services - anything that I can get for free! Libraries (free books), free classes/lectures, parks, shuttles/public transit, free medical clinics, free public events (street fairs, performances), etc. Anything that can give me a better sense of my quality of life in the area!

Maybe all hospitals and civil services centers in the city, and drill down a couple of levels to provide more specific data. ie.( hospitals services provided, doctors names, police run community centers like the PAL program.

I'd like to know...
* how far the police and fire stations are from a given point (i.e. my house)
* availability of public transportation, both within SF and to/from other places in the area
* crime rate
* median income in the area
* turnover of housing stock (i.e. how often do homes in the area change owners, or how long local owners have owned their homes)
* ratio of homeowners to renters
* availability of parking for cars and service vehicles (UPS, moving vans)
* proximity to parks and recreation (pools, etc)

To be perfectly honest, I need to know what parking is like in any given area of town. I need to know if street cleaning on Wednesday is going to make Tuesday night's parking a nightmare. Restaurants and crime are actually already covered by private services, the city needs to make the data that we DON'T HAVE available; MUNI reliability, property tax adjustments, that kind of thing would be helpful and only the city has it.

I would like to see any construction permits issued on the property. It would help to find out what major remodeling or repair was done, if any.

Here are a few items I would be interested knowing:
# of homeless
crime stats
tax rates
foreclosures
school info
public transport options
hospitals

Hi Mayor Newsom,

It is so great to see you on Trulia, this is such a great question.
When deciding where to live the type of local information that I care about is:
- Community of people that live around me
- Quality of schools in the vicinity
- Crime/safety (crime rates, walking at night safety)
- Green areas and environmental factors (pollution, recycling, etc)
- Local businesses (restaurants, dry cleaners, cafes, super markets, etc)
- Parking availability and safety

Thanks!
Irit

1. Crime data
2. School quality
3. Open space per square mile (parks etc.)

I think the big, important things are: schools ratings and scores, crime information, ability for the area to retain/improve it's value, local shops, parking/traffic/public transportation access and businesses in the area (eg, universities). This would be very helpful and would be a great way for San Francisco to take the lead here!

Thanks,

First and foremost I want to feel safe in a neighborhood. I want to be able to walk home without looking over my shoulder. I enjoy seeing the police in the area when not involved with criminal activity, so I guess this translates into crime rate. Also school performance statistics would be important along with proximity to the neighborhood.

since i am thinking about buying a place, here are some things that I care about

- crime data
- income data
- property tax information
- school performance data
- parks and number of trees in the area
- street parking info
- walkability score
- car accident information
- the weather for the area, how much sun does it really get
- % of low income of subsidized housing in the area

As a student I would want to know information about:

the local universities and colleges in the area
local job listings
availability of housing
the public library
public transportation
demographics of neighborhoods to find a student friendly area.

This is a progressive step towards transparent governance. Kudos to Gavin on such an exciting initiative. My interests would be:

- crime
- schools (down to the neighborhood level)
- new residential projects in the area
- parks
- public transportation
- distance to supermarket/market/farmer's markets
- restaurants & cinemas
- distance from highways
- noise levels (as deciphered by traffic volume)
- demographics of the city neighborhood

Gavin...so good to see you on Trulia. Thanks for the great question! When deciding where to live I feel that there is an assortment of factors to take into consideration. Here are my top 3...

1) Access to public transportation.
2) Is the property within walking distance to restaurants, cafes and nightlife
3) And because I'm putting long hours in at work...is my home located in a part of town that is safe at night?

Thanks Mr. Mayor for your question!

Aaron

The information that would be most important to me are the quality of schools in the neighborhood, the distance of nearest police station, fire station, and hospital, the crime rates in the area, the weather, the access to public transportation, and the rates of unemployment and jobs.

My wish list would be:

- property tax (including Mello-Roos if applicable) info
- crime rates
- map of restricted parking and street cleaning info
- town meeting information

according to me, most important factors to consider are:

1. crime rate
2. medical facilities
3. recreational activities (both for adults and children; can include parks, sports grounds, museums, summer camps for children etc.)
4. transportation facilities
5. markets
6. educational facilities (schools and colleges)
7. good neighborhood

I can't disagree with the "crime, schools, taxes" meme. But let me second the idea of giving good info about the City's master plans for neighborhoods. I rent in Eastern SOMA and would like to buy. As much as I've read, I can't quite get a handle on what the implications are for all of the neighborhood plans.

Crime stats and noise levels are easy. Helping us deeply understand what a neighborhood could look like in 10 years is where the real work lies.

When deciding where to live, you might want to check out vicinity to your employment, local establishments, the cost of needed services, hospitals, schools, crime rate. Check out the things that are most important to you.

Fortunately in Newport, Rhode Island, the crime rate is relatively low and I tell clients to go on line or talk to the police department for verification. I do emphasize that most newport residents are carpet baggers like myself and are drawn to this locale because of its beauty, cosmopolitan mix and accessibilty to new york and boston. I do not hesitate to also say that real estate taxes are high, services low,and public school system not performing well. If I have a customer looking in an area where I do not know the school system well I offer to refer them to a agent that is more knowledgeable about that town. So far no customer has taken me up on my offer.

As a young woman interested in starting a family within a few years, when I buy my next home, it will be critical for me to know the quality of the schools in the area, the average time it takes to get in and out of the home and neighborhood information regarding crime, traffic and community development trends.

I would stick with the basics, and that would be:

1. Security
2. Cost of Living
3. Establishments
4. Vicinity

With that in mind you can never go wrong.

Hello Gavin,

It's great to see you request input from others. To me, it shows you care.

You may find it helpful to see what others are doing. Below is a link to our county and the information they provide:
http://www.co.jackson.or.us/

Sincerely,
Crystal Beard
Ambient Home Lending
crystal@ambientlending.com

I want to know history of real estate taxes, ratings and locations of schools and hospitals,
the usual population overviews, history of town's political affiliations, availability
of farmers' markets, organic stores, CSA suppliers, reviews of restaurants, cultural events, etc.
Thank you for asking.

Hi,
Greetings.
My priority will be what are the approved plans in the area in the next 5 years, 10 years.

I believe the future is more important than the past. What is going to happen. I am a realtor, some investors are from oversea, or out of town, they are interested to know , as investment in properties are long term investments.

Moxa Chiu, CDPE, ePRO, SRES,RCS-D
San Mateo

I get my data from City-Data.com. They have almost everything i am interested in.

contact information for ASL interpreters, deaf access around SF, and historical background on many hidden gems, and "did you know..." questions about SF, too...

Knowing where the people receiving welfare, social services, entitlements actually live in San Francisco County goes right along with knowing the block by block neighborhood crime rates. I want to live in a neighborhood where the people work for a living rather than are home all day and getting checks mailed to them. It makes a big difference in the qualify of life in a neighborhood if there is a large percentage of people receiving high levels of long term government assistance. I want to know where those neighborhoods are within San Francisco so I can avoid them and the problems surrounding multigenerational welfare recipients. San Francisco is known for it's broad base of free social services, people actually move there for the government assistance available. So, for the San Francisco neighborhood communities this is a larger issue than most other counties in the U.S. I lived many years in San Franciso and surrounding counties. It was a lovely city until it became overrun with entitlement programs and street people. There's something wrong when people are allowed to crap on the street but you must pick up after your dog. Love San Francisco, hate what has happened to it. Have watched for over 60 years now as it has degenerated. It is no longer a place for small children to play. Gavin is capable of uniting the people and making San Francisco a model city on the planet. It's time.

Gavin, the question I get asked most is school "ranking". How schools in the various districts perform on various testing. While the information of the delineation of the districts is relatively easy to find, the school's performance is not.

Handicap accessibility. Parking. Restrictions on pets, if any.

In moving to Oregon I was surprised there was no single source of how to become an Oregonian. We have stitched the info needed but in this era of heightened security its important to know the requirements for moving. At a minimum one needs to know how to gain the vote, how to open financial accounts which often require evidence of residence/domicile, what is required for changing drivers licence and vehicle registration, etc. These changes are not as simple as they were once. More information will prevent surprises and disappointments.

Hello Mayor Newsom,

I'm so pleased to welcome you to Trulia Voices! This is a great question and you've received many fantastic answers so far.

Parking availability and permit zone information top my list. I live at the edge of a parking permit zone but my address doesn't qualify me for a permit and I thus miss out on a lot of available parking spaces and had I known that I might have chosen to live on another block.

I would also love to see a map that shows street cleaning dates and times. Because they differ so much for each street and block, it's so easy to forget when I need to move my car. I know the city benefits from the hefty fines, but I think a lot of us would be a lot happier if we could check out street cleaning info on the internet.

Public transportation routes and average commute times are a must as well. It's one thing to know that public transportation is available, but another to know that it often runs late or has mechanical failures that will stretch out the commute time.

I hope this is a helpful answer and I look forward to seeing DataSF.org evolve.

Best Wishes,

Emily Gibson
Community Moderator

Social Demographic... what is the cultural atmosphere? Conservative, liberal, progressive? What is the cost of living? How much are taxes? How much house can I get for $300,000.00? What is the income of the people?

property taxes, utility costs, crime rates, vehicle licensing costs,

church information, activities for the youth, jobs, crime rate, property taxes, and parks and recreations.

I would like property taxes readily available; Recent demographics information, not almost ten years old. Migratory information. Childcare and public schools ranking information. Crime rate data and ease for transportation.

1. Quality and accessibility of public school system
2. Childcare! So often overlooked, but so essential for families. I need options close to my home for both my toddler and my 4 year old. I will want data about the type of setting (home based or a childcare center?), schedule, ages, location, and COST! I'd also like a website link or phone number so I can research the curriculum and arrange to visit. I have learned the hard way that finding a good setting for young children can be daunting, not to mention my family's biggest annual expense after our mortgage payment.

I'd like to know whether the city is going to post notices around the neighborhood before they decide to ticket people for not feeding the meters on a HOLIDAY.

As America ages, two of the most important features would be universal design and energy efficiency. Can a person on a walker, in a wheelchair, visually or hearing impaired access all areas of the house, plumbing, electrical and storage facilities? How is the house rated for gas, electric or alternative energy sources?

This is a great question. For me, it would be on local governmental rules and guidelines. There's nothing worse than to move your whole family and life to only to find out that you do not agree with the rules and guidelines. But, of course you will know about it when you're in escrow in inspection period. Although, it would be nice if you knew prior, so you won't waste your time.

I would want to know the Job growth in the area. Median Home prices, education record, Is there a professional sports team to support and crime rate.

I'd like to know if I live next to a pedophile. I'd like to know if the property has any toxicity (ground or internal). I'd like to know if the city or county has any plans for development within a few years time frame. How the school system is and how many robberies etc have taken place in the 10 mile surrounding radius in the past 5 years.

Needs and priorities change as we go through life. Twenty years ago schools would have been a priority, not so much anymore. For myself, and many of my clients, major considerations for location and information access include employment and proximity to workplaces, amenities (recreational and entertainment activities, shopping, dining, arts, etc.), health care and transportation corridors.

I'd like to know the crime rate in the area, ease to transportation, distance to dog parks/other parks, how well average values per square foot have changed over time compared to city averages, composition of the population (diversity: age/ethnicity/profession/lifestyle/etc), ease of parking,