Why It’s Important To Live In a City With Good Healthcare

, Mar 2, 2022

A nurse checking the blood pressure of a senior patient at home.

No one should take healthcare for granted. Currently, 8.6% of Americans lack health insurance. Even those with coverage through a private insurer, government program, or their employer may find it difficult to access the services they need.

Also, health goes far beyond clinics and hospitals. The availability of fresh, healthy foods, fitness facilities, and safe, clean environments is also essential to keeping yourself and your loved ones healthy.

If you plan to buy a new home or relocate to a new area, it is essential to consider the quality and availability of healthcare. You will typically find that the central district of a city has better healthcare services and offers all the other features you need to remain in good health. Furthermore, they also tend to be hubs for innovation in the health sector, which means you’ll always be getting the latest medicines and treatments.

Austin, Texas is a good example of a city with all the features you need to take care of your health. In addition to plentiful fitness and outdoor activities, there are at least 30 healthcare facilities in the Austin area, and some of them are ranked among the best in the state.

What makes some places, like Austin, better for healthcare? Here is a closer look at why living in a city with good healthcare should be a priority for homebuyers.

Easier Access To Health Facilities and Services

There are multiple components to a good healthcare system. Quality medical staff and well-equipped facilities are important. However, you also need access to ambulances, vaccines, and emergency services. In other words, the services you need are always at hand, and you have multiple ways to get to them.

This healthcare dynamic is part of the “urban advantage” that city-dwellers enjoy. Schools, cultural attractions, access to food, and fitness options are also part of the attraction of city life.

Here is a closer look at the health-related components of the urban advantage.

Vaccination Availability

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the topic of vaccination was at the front of everyone’s mind. If you are looking for a home post-pandemic, you want to live in a city that has quality healthcare so that you can access vaccines early if they are necessary for the future.

Also, if you are starting a family, your children will need to be vaccinated against various diseases at key stages of their life. Because of the frequency of these early childhood jabs, the process can be challenging if you have to travel long distances for each shot. However, in cities with easy healthcare access, vaccination is convenient and straightforward.

Emergency Services

Emergencies occur unexpectedly. When they do, it is essential to be able to access medical services quickly. Where you live can have a significant impact on the response times of emergency medical service (EMS) professionals.

EMS response times are significantly shorter in urban areas compared to rural locations. Ninety percent of the time, EMS personnel respond to calls in nine minutes or fewer in a city. In rural areas, 90% of calls receive a response in 15 minutes or less. If it is a true emergency, those six minutes can make a huge difference. Even if you do not need an ambulance, you will have peace of mind knowing that a quick response is likely if you live in a city with quality healthcare services.

Health Classes and Gyms

Overall fitness and education are also components of healthcare. Cities tend to have more places to exercise and more resources for finding out about conditions that affect you.

Urban settings give you a range of fitness options. In addition to gyms and standard aerobics or weight training classes, you can also find instruction for yoga, sports, and meditation.

Urban areas also often have excellent infrastructure for outdoor fitness activities.

Austin is an excellent example of a fitness-conscious city. It boasts yoga centers, sports fields, hiking and biking trails, and even a large velodrome for cyclists.

Transportation Options to Hospitals

Quick EMS response times are important, but most of the time, you will not need to hurry to the hospital. For regular appointments and urgent (but not emergency) treatment, you need other transportation options.

This issue is often overlooked, but it is quite important. Each year, 3.6 million Americans fail to obtain medical care due to transportation problems. The problems can include long distances, high transportation costs, lack of a personal vehicle, and poor infrastructure.

How can you avoid this surprisingly common problem? You should live in a city like Austin with a robust public transportation system, quality infrastructure, and multiple healthcare facilities.

More Advanced Healthcare Technology

Cities are hubs of innovation. If you are looking for the latest developments in finance, technology, education, and healthcare, you typically look to urban areas.

When it comes to the medical sector, public hospitals in cities tend to have larger budgets, which they can direct toward procuring the latest equipment. In turn, these places attract skilled professionals who want the best possible equipment to perform their job. This is why you typically need to visit major urban hospitals to get the best or most-specialized treatments.

Large cities with a focus on healthcare also attract pharmaceutical and medical device companies, which use the area to develop new medicines, procedures, and equipment.

Austin is home to some of the largest and most forward-thinking biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the country. For example, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Agilent Technologies have operations in the city. This is also the state capital of Texas, so people who live here are close to the decision-makers whose legislation will affect healthcare and other important aspects of society.

Longevity of Investments

A city with good healthcare provides health-related benefits in the short term and increases the quality of life overall. However, there are also long-term benefits to living in a place with quality health services.

Increase in Property Value

Homebuyers consider quality-of-life factors, such as access to healthcare, when choosing a new location in which to live. Studies have shown that homes near large medical facilities, such as those in major cities, have higher sales prices than comparable homes farther away. The same trend also held for rental homes. If you are planning to purchase an investment property, proximity to a hospital or other major medical facility can help with profitability.

If you buy a home in an area with a thriving healthcare system, its value is more likely to increase over time. If you are purchasing a home to build equity, this is an important factor to consider.

Retirement and Elderly Care

If you are purchasing a home for retirement, or if you are younger buying a property to live in long-term, you need to be especially cognizant of local healthcare services.

Living far away from medical and care facilities in older age can be costly. Either you will have to pay for home healthcare services or arrange transport to medical clinics and hospitals.

If you plan to “age in place” by remaining in your home for as long as possible, living in a city with good healthcare is essential. Nearby medical facilities and transportation options can help you get the care you need while remaining in your own home.

When you select a home to buy, it is one of the biggest decisions you will make in life. Your choice will impact your life for years to come. First of all, you need to find a home that fits your price range.

Secondly, by looking at specific details, such as healthcare access in your chosen location, you can make an informed choice. Health-related factors can help confirm that your preferred area will provide the necessary quality of life.

About the Author

Last updated: 03/08/2022

2300+ Client reviews!

I had the pleasure of working with Vicki Duran and I couldn’t be happier with the experience. From the very beginning, Vicki demonstrated deep knowledge of the market and a genuine commitment to understanding my needs. Her communication was exceptional – always prompt, clear, and informative. Throughout the process, Vicki went above and beyond, negotiating on my behalf, explaining the process/each step along the way, and ensuring every detail was taken care of. Her professionalism, dedication, and personalized approach was exceptional. She truly cared and I felt like I was working with a close family friend (having never met her before the process began). I can’t emphasis enough how seamless she made the process for me. People have the perception that buying a house is an extremely stressful process. My experience could not have been farther from the truth. I joked with her at times how smooth/easy buying a house was, all because of Vicki!

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Blessed to have connected with Kristen! I can’t say enough great things about Kristen. Her professionalism, market knowledge, and communication were beyond compare. She was incredibly patient throughout our home search. We looked at a countless amount of homes (we are very picky), and never once felt she was trying to push us in to something that wasn’t the right fit for the sake of a sale. We always felt she had our best interest in mind. Couldn’t recommend her more!!!

Sally was referred to me via a business network when I first moved to Austin in 2022. She helped me understand the area, evaluate my options, and find the perfect spot in a tough market. Sally has been a joy to work with because she creates partnerships + friendships with her clients!

I was impressed by Sally’s expertise in selling both my investment property and my primary residence, and in helping us buy our dream home. At our initial meeting, we found Sally knew the real estate market, but found even more impressive her emotional quotient in understanding and navigating the differences between my partner’s and my very different personalities. For my investment property, she timed the showings and sale perfectly and created a helpful Excel spreadsheet comparing the many offers. She was also savvy enough to suggest we pay the tenants a fair amount of money to make the property available for viewing from 9am – 5pm on the first weekend to make it as easy as possible for potential buyers to get through, and we let her deal directly with the tenants because we could tell her people skills would serve us well

We got multiple offers by the deadline on Monday afternoon with one outlier that was $150K higher than what we had unsuccessfully listed the property for (with a different realtor) a year earlier!

When it came to selling my primary home, Sally’s expertise in the luxury market, and in historic homes in particular, truly shone. She understood that selling a high-end property, with various restrictions, required a different approach. Sally crafted a listing for the home that perfectly captured its unique character and premier location. Her marketing strategy was well timed and appropriate for the more limited market, attracting the right buyer pool and creating a sense of exclusivity around the property. She suggested listing it on the private market for a week or two before sending a message that it would be listed on the MLS. She organized private showings that allowed buyers to experience the warmth and charm of the home and the neighborhood, which I believe was instrumental in securing a sale.

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Sally’s rep of us as sellers could not have been more professional, but her work repping us as buyers is the most memorable. We were trying to be our dream home in an overheated market, and Sally gave us advice that at each turn proved invaluable. She recommended offering just the right amount above the offer price for us to make it to the next round of offers. She handled a very difficult appraisal process by advising us on financing sources, even offering to help us put down a higher amount by loaning us money herself! We were able to finance the home without taking her up on that offer, but how many realtors make that kind of offer to their clients? In the end, we closed on the house ontime and ended up with the home of our dreams, thanks to Sally’s world-class advice and service.

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I have lived here in Austin for more twenty-five years, and have bought and sold several homes and rented others during those years. I have worked with five realtors during that time. SALLY IS BY FAR THE BEST OF ANY IN TOWN. Her work ethic is simply unmatched. She hides her competitive streak underneath a layer of Austin hip and friendly, but she will absolutely get you the best home, the best deal, and stop at NOTHING to get your home sold as well!

Sally loves real estate. She has a genuine passion for Austin, too, and for her client’s well-being. She took time to understand my needs and was always available to answer any questions and provide me with honest and insightful advice.

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Sally is incredible! She spent nearly 2 years with us – understanding our very specific preferences and needs – to help us find our dream home. She was the first agent to reach out when the home was listed and negotiated the contract astutely so that we secured the home. The home was only in the framed stage, still had a few months until completion. Once it was completed, however, our plans had changed and we needed to get out of the contract. We were expecting to have to relinquish our very considerable deposit. But Sally spent the entire weekend working on a way to get us out of the contract AND get our deposit back. Everyone we have spoken to about this extraordinary outcome has been surprised that Sally managed to get our deposit back for us. Thank you Sally, we can’t recommend her highly enough.

Sally is reliable, diligent in her research, prompt on exchanges, creative in deal making, and has a tremendous work ethic. She is the sole reason we were able to close on our primary residence, which has been our dream home and a fantastic investment. From there, we’ve gone on to close on multiple rental property purchases in Austin together. Thanks to her astute analysis, we’ve passed on many deals as well, which has proven just as valuable. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

I highly recommend Kiel if you’re looking to rent a place in Austin. We originally met him to look around a particular unit, and when it was not to our satisfaction, he was able to quickly take us around many more units that day. He also set up a whole day of viewings for the very next day! Within 48 hours we had done enough viewings to be confident in choosing a new home. The landlord accepted our offer and Kiel handled all of the paperwork, even stopping by our hotel to pick up the needed checks. We couldn’t be happier.
Kiel is highly organized and unlike some realtors in the Austin area, he is responsive and ready to move quickly. We were always able to contact him and never left waiting.

Kiel has your BACK!! We are so grateful to have had his guidance and knowledge while navigating the intense, frustrating and way competitive Austin rental market. He quickly picked up on our taste and designed a game plan to help us push through the clutter and get to the properties that best suited us. He was ALWAYS available to us and answered our emails, calls and texts with great speed. We’re so grateful to have had him on our search team. Because my goodness, it really is a crazy market out there!

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