Find data sources and optimise for your objectives. For me it was: - travel-time, via connections like airports, train stations, motorways, etc. You will need

Find data sources and optimise for your objectives. For me it was: - travel-time, via connections like airports, train stations, motorways, etc. You will need them when you want to travel, or your spouse needs to get to an office - weather. Now and predictions of how it will change in the future - water levels and flood risks and how they are predicted to change over your lifetime (especially important of you like the coast, rivers, etc.) - forest fires, draught etc might be a factor depending on your climate - proximity to industrial or academic centers - general social-economic situation of the place that is interesting to you Most of this data is likely freely available from public / state sources. If you don't know the place, rent first, buy when you are happy. Data is unlikely to provide the full picture and you need to live in a place to get a full picture of it's quirks. Make sure to use the facilities you care about to get an idea how they work in practice.