Ideal neighborhoods include grocery stores, short commute times

Americans want to be able to pick up a carton of eggs or a block of cheese close to their homes.

A recent survey from Improvenet by Craftjack found that living in close proximity to a grocery store is the top priority for nearly 90% of Americans when describing their ideal neighborhood. Park space, a strong public school system, fine dining restaurants and fast casual restaurants were other important features to have close by to the majority of consumers surveyed. Places of worship, a theater, a large shopping mall and a music venue were all low on the list of must-haves for a dream neighborhood, according to respondents.

Commute time is another important factor, the ideal commute time is 14 minutes, and the majority said 28 minutes is the max they want to commute for a neighborhood to be considered ideal. It’s not surprising then that the most-coveted type of neighborhood is a quiet suburb near a city, followed by a quieter part of a big city. Rural areas far from cities, and residing in an actual big city were not high on the list of ideal types of neighborhoods.

Neighbors also have a significant impact on a homeowner’s happiness in a community. Seventeen percent of respondents said they want to be best friends with their neighbors, while the majority (61%) would just like to be friendly, like a co-worker relationship.

Unfortunately, the majority of respondents (70%) said they don’t live in their dream neighborhood currently, but many people, nearly 60%, said they contribute to their community, by supporting locally-owned businesses, cleaning up trash, reporting crime and volunteering to organize local events.