If your clients are looking for not just a new home but a new neighborhood, you can help them find the information they'll need to consider their decision. Along with the usual sources for statistics, consider pointing them to social media so they can learn about neighborhoods from the people who live there.
Nextdoor specializes in connecting neighbors and providing a hyperlocal site for recommendations and news. While the site requests a local address for new users to register, a "Neighborhoods" link on the site's footer lets users zoom in by state, town, and neighborhood. Each neighborhood will have an introductory summary describing the area and the activity on the site.
Twitter has a few options for users to see a particular area. Of course, the first is to select savvy hashtags; you can compile a list for customers in advance. Also, logged-in users who are in the area they're checking out can set the Trends box to that area. Users can also choose filters for nearby activity. And if they aren't in the area, tell users to use the advanced search page, which will let them set any location.
Facebook has a variety of local features, easily discovered through the site's search feature. Its selection is much more random than Nextdoor, since search depends on posts and groups with public activity. But the serendipity of unexpected results can yield bonuses for interested users.
Even
Snapchat offers local information, and you don't need an account to use it. Snapchat.com offers a
live heat map showing recent public activity. Scroll to any area to see what's going on in the neighborhood.
Source: "How to Use Social Networks to Find Out What's Going On in Your Neighborhood," Lifehacker.com (April 4, 2018)
