Moving is always an exciting time in your life. No matter why you’re moving, if you’re just a tiny bit familiar with what’s happening in the world right now, you know that you must choose a location that supports a more sustainable lifestyle. Of course, you can make your home more eco-friendly with new appliances and green building materials, but oftentimes, you can be more sustainable by choosing a good location for your home. Here’s how to pick the right location so you can maintain eco-friendliness and even improve your practices.
Choose the right country
If you’re planning a big move to a foreign country, it’s good to know that there are countries that are more eco-friendly than others. For instance, while the States are not super sustainable, Switzerland, especially Zurich, is very eco-friendly. The people and the government in this city invest greatly into green options. Other places like Vancouver in Canada or are cut with bike paths, parks and green spaces people can use and enjoy. And Australian capital, Canberra, has been named the world’s most sustainable city by the UK comparison company Uswitch.
Reduce commute
When choosing a place to live in a certain city, it’s important to choose a location that’s close to your workplace, kids’ schools, stores and other amenities. Being able to bike or walk to these locations will reduce carbon emission and make our environment greener. Plus, you’ll save money on gas and time stuck in traffic. And your body and mind will be healthier. Also, if you ever decide to move and sell your property, the closeness to stores, offices, schools and other institutions will raise its price.
Recycle and reuse
If you’re planning to move, consider to buy an existing house or a plot of land where someone previously built something already. A property with a building just needs to be renovated, hooked up to power and water, and it’s ready to welcome you. Renovation is always more eco-friendly than building from scratch. There’s no demolishing and wasting materials or buying new materials that produce a lot of pollution. If you need to demolish the existing building for safety reasons, make sure to hire experts who know how to save materials and prepare them for reusing or recycling. To further save money, make sure to use a practical offset mortgage calculator to reduce your interest. With the money you save on reduced overall interest payable on your home loan, you can invest in energy-saving additions or set up a solar power system.
Don’t disturb nature
There are many habitats around you that are home to endangered species, agricultural land and important wetland — these are best left alone. There are other places where you can build or buy property. If you let nature be, you will help the local environment and prevent erosion, water pollution and habitat destruction.
Avoid red flags
Some red flags when it comes to house location should be avoided if you want to practice sustainability. Make sure to avoid zones near earthquake faults, zones sensitive to erosion or zones with regular hurricanes. You will have to rebuild often and waste resources even more. Also, avoid lands that have never been cleared and developed. These locations are already rare enough today, so don’t make them even more scarce. Also, there are areas that consist of steep slopes that need to be graded to be approved for development. The process of grading and developing such land can cause erosion, storm water runoff, water pollution, flooding and mudslides.
If you choose the right location for your home, you will improve your sustainability and make your life much healthier and more pleasurable. Hopefully, future generations will copy your behavior and work towards building a sustainable future.
Written by Diana Smith
About the Author
Diana Smith is a full-time mum of two beautiful girls and is interested in sustainability, ecology and home improvement. She enjoys exercising and preparing healthy meals for her family. You can find her on Twitter here.
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