Being in a walkable neighborhood is a big factor in choosing a home to buy or to rent. To be within walking distance to malls, grocery stores, hospitals, transportation terminals, offices and schools saves time and effort, so it is very convenient. Aside from this, walkable neighborhoods address several social and economic problems as they promote "social interaction, physical fitness, diminished crime, and increased wellness," notes Walkable Communties, Inc.
If you are transferring to another city, find out if this city belongs to a walkable community.
These are the "10 Most Walkable Cities of 2015" via Walk Score ranking, with New York leading the pack, as reported by Redfin.
Rank,City Walk Score
1. New York 87.6
2. San Francisco 83.9
3. Boston 79.5
4. Philadelphia 76.5
5. Miami 75.6
6. Chicago 74.8
7. Washington D.C. 74.1
8. Seattle 70.8
9. Oakland 68.5
10. Baltimore 66.2
Matt Lerner, Walk Score co-founder said, "New York is clearly leading the way in walkability by reclaiming space from cars for people.One look at Times Square shows how New York has become a leader. It's just one example of a place that went from being a gridlocked road full of cars to a park for pedestrians."
Consideration: Walkability Comes With a Hefty Price
In a recent CNBC report, even baby boomers in the suburbs who want to downsize want walkable neighborhoods, too. "I think we wanted to have more of an urban life, if we could be downtown and walk to everything, that would be our preference," Mike Klipper, 67, told CNBC.
However, Mike and his wife, Betsy, after thoroughly searching for houses in Washington, D.C., found out their dream homes are incredibly expensive and the units, too small.
"We started looking in D.C., and we were shocked, absolutely shocked, because we thought we would be able to sell our house and put a little money in the bank, and buy something we would enjoy," said Betsy. "Even if we went up a substantial amount, we didn't see anything that we could feel comfortable living in."
It seems that walkable neighborhoods are becoming really expensive. Four of these most walkable cities ---New York, San Francisco, Miami and Oakland--- belong to the top 5 least affordable cities in 2014 according to the First Mortgage Affordability Report of the 25 largest housing markets in the U.S. done by Realtor.com:
1. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA:
2. San Diego including Carlsbad, CA:
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-W. Palm Beach, FL
Along with San Francisco and Miami, some of these most walkable cities like Boston, Chicago and Washington are unaffordable, too, because they were included in the list of places where home appreciation outpaces wage increase in a RealtyTrac study, based on 2012-2014 data, cited by RISMedia.
