Is the lease on your current place going to be up in the next few months? Are you thinking about taking advantage of this fact to move to somewhere else that better fits your family and/or your lifestyle? Not everyone is able to live just anywhere. Sometimes the crime rate has gone up since you moved in, sometimes you don't get along with a particular neighbor, sometimes you need to upsize or downsize your living space, and sometimes it's for entirely different reasons. Whatever the case, it can be hard to find just the right place to move to. Take note of these suggestions and use them to find the place that best fits you and your family:

Ask people you know: Sometimes, one of the best ways to find viable rental properties is to ask friends and friends of friends for help. They may know of a neighbor that's about to move out, leaving an empty unit that you could potentially rent. They're also good sources for finding out where not to rent, helping you to avoid the same pitfalls that are currently urging you to find somewhere else to live. If they've heard nothing bad about a particular area or property, that can be a good sign that you might want to consider moving there.

Look at online listings: There's nothing inherently bad about using an agent to locate rental properties that you might be interested in but it's not always as useful as you might hope. It can be hard to communicate exactly what you mean to someone else. You might tell them that you're interested in a 2-bedroom property that has a pool; the agent could then focus on finding a 2-bedroom location when you'd really rather have the pool and the 2nd bedroom simply would've been nice to have. With online listings, you'll be able to sort everything yourself, prioritizing what you want. Obviously, you can still use an agent later if you really want.

Drive through the neighborhood at various times: Too many people only go to look at rental properties twice before moving: once to view the actual unit, the second time to sign paperwork and/or pick up keys. This doesn't tell you what the neighborhood is like on Friday nights, how traffic is on weekday mornings, and other things of that nature. If you're not able to go more than a couple of times yourself due to work, recruit friends or family to drive around the area at different times and report back to you. This will help you to avoid the types of situations that will make you want to move again immediately.

Look for rental properties near you to get started.