Americans have relocated in near-record numbers over the last year and a half. People who consider where they may move look at several factors.

One of the most important issues people face is real estate prices. Many have left the expensive coastal cities like New York and San Francisco because homes are extremely expensive. The cost of living overall in these cities is high as well. And, very large cities can be tagged with poor “quality of life” because of, among other things, crime, air pollution and long commutes.

Many inland cities have lower home prices, although the rush to these has driven these prices up sharply. And, many have a better perceived “quality of life” because of a low cost of living, good schools, lower crime, and healthier air.

This huge migration also has another catalyst. The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed millions of Americans to work from home, and some have moved far from the offices they once commuted to. Some companies do not expect a portion of their workers to return to their offices at all. Others have offered hybrid arrangements in which people split their time between the office and home.

StorageCafe has just released a study about which cities people find the most “neighborly”. The four primary measures of this are: 1) satisfaction with neighbors, 2) sense of community, 3) community involvement, and 4) whether they would recommend their neighborhood. Numbers for the analysis were taken from rentcafe.com and propertyshark.com for a period of one month, across 10,987 respondents. To sum up the broad conclusions, the researchers reported:

Aside from location, space and affordability, community friendliness can be a deal-breaker when deciding where to live. Now, after almost two years of going through a pandemic, we have a renewed sense of appreciation for human connection. Having good neighbors can make our living experience more pleasant.

The most neighborly city of those on the list was Indianapolis. The primary reasons were that almost 60% of people were satisfied with their neighborhoods. People were also engaged with their communities, as nearly two-thirds volunteered or donated to the community. About half would recommend their community to others.

Click here to read America’s 50 Best Cities To Live

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