You can't do too much homework when it comes to buying a property you intend to live in. Home truths can take a while to discover, so those of us in the real estate world know to study up! Your agent should be helping you with this, and advising you of how, and if they're not, I suggest you visit your nearest local expert at Century 21 quick smart! Deciding where to live is a big decision, and not one to be taken lightly.
I know people who have fallen in love with properties in fabulous towns far from the city, and immediately they've begun planning their sea-change with little thought to research. After some sage advice from yours truly of course, they agreed to head back to the property at different times of day, and on different days. A few things came to light. Firstly, many other people had the same love of the town, and they headed there in droves on the weekend. So much for the peace and quiet they had anticipated. Similarly, the quaint pub across the street by day became the local favourite by night (plus it housed all those weekenders) and parking became a nightmare and there was a band playing loud enough to still enjoy them 10kms away. I resisted the urge to say "I told you so" when my friends thanked me for the advice and began reconsidering an apartment closer to the city.
Although discovering less than ideal aspects of what you thought was your dream home can be incredibly disappointing, it's actually a good thing in the long run. You need to spend time in an area to determine if you really do want to live there. One magical wander through a home open isn't going to provide you with that. Not every real estate nightmare comes from issues with the actual house. Your local Century 21 agent is a trained expert in their area, so rely on them to answer the questions you have about an area, but also make sure you do your own groundwork too.
If you're serious about finding your dream home – your real dream home, not the one that ends up being below the loudest end of a flight path – put in the time to do the research! It's often smarter to choose an area before you choose a property, and if you put in the hard yards, chances are you'll end up buying better and staying longer.