Moving to a New City and Staying Active: Choosing a Neighbourhood That Makes Movement Easy

Physical activity · Published 2026-10-27

The Jersey City skyline across the Hudson River at dusk, with old pier posts standing in the water — Jersey City seen from Hudson River Park, New York. Photo by Ian Simmonds, CC0.

A move to a new city resets almost every routine at once: the walk to the station, the gym you knew, the park where you ran, the time you went to bed. Some people find it the perfect moment to become more active; others discover months later that they hardly walk at all. Much of the difference comes down to a decision made early, often in a hurry: where to live. This guide looks at what public health research says about neighbourhoods and physical activity, and turns it into practical checks for anyone choosing a place in an unfamiliar city.

Why the neighbourhood matters

Public health bodies increasingly treat physical activity as something shaped by places, not only by willpower. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that communities combine two kinds of improvement to help people be active: activity-friendly routes, meaning connected streets, pavements, safe crossings, lighting, shade, protected bike lanes and access to public transport, and everyday destinations close to homes, such as schools, parks, grocery stores and other shops. This follows the built environment recommendation of the independent Community Preventive Services Task Force.

The World Health Organization makes the same link in its physical activity fact sheet. It counts walking and cycling for transport as physical activity, and among the policies it recommends to countries are access to walking, cycling and other non-motorised transport and more accessible public open spaces. The NIDDK in the US notes that it may be easier to make healthier choices if your neighbourhood has safe places to walk or be active and a shop with affordable fruit and vegetables nearby.

For an individual, the message is practical. If the shop, the station and the park are a pleasant ten-minute walk away, you will walk most days without deciding to. If every errand needs a car, staying active becomes an extra task that competes with everything else in a busy week.

Start from your week, not from the listing

Listings describe the home: rooms, light, kitchen, price. They rarely describe the life around it. Before you look at any, write down what a normal week will involve: where you will work and on which days, where you would like to exercise, how often you shop for food, and anything fixed such as a school run or a weekly class. That list becomes your filter.

Before arranging viewings, shortlist flats to rent near a cycle route or a frequent bus line, and favour a home within a ten-minute walk of a park in the areas you are considering, noting for each one how you would get to work without a car, where the nearest green space is and whether the bedroom faces a busy road. Those three details say more about your future routine than the photos do, and they are hard to change once the lease is signed.

If your budget allows only a few areas, that is still useful: it tells you which trade-offs you are making. A smaller flat in a walkable district may give back hours each week that a larger place far from everything would take away.

Walkable everyday destinations

Walkability is not only about distance. The CDC's description of activity-friendly routes highlights connected streets with shorter blocks and more route choices, continuous pavements, safe crossings, lighting and shade. A shop that is 600 metres away but on the other side of a dual carriageway with no crossing is, in practice, a car trip.

When you visit an area, walk it rather than driving through. Check:

whether there is a food shop selling fresh produce within about ten to fifteen minutes on foot;
whether pavements are continuous, wide enough and lit after dark;
how busy and fast the traffic is on the roads you would cross every day;
whether there are places to sit, trees for shade and things to look at, which make walking more pleasant;
whether the route feels comfortable at the times you would use it, including in the evening.

A brisk ten-minute walk already counts towards the 150 minutes of moderate activity a week that adults are advised to get, as our guide to walking for health explains. Two or three such journeys a day cover most of it.

Parks and green space within reach

Parks and recreational facilities near homes are one of the everyday destinations the CDC lists, and the WHO counts active recreation and play among the most popular ways to be active. A park close by makes running, walking, outdoor exercise classes, ball games with children or simply a lunchtime walk far more likely.

Look at the size and type of the nearest green space, not just its presence on a map. A small square is pleasant; a large park, a river path or a canal towpath offers longer routes for running and cycling. Check opening hours, lighting and whether paths are usable in winter. If you have a dog, the nearest off-lead area may decide your daily walking more than anything else.

The commute on foot, by bike or by public transport

Active travel is the most reliable way to build movement into a working week, because it does not depend on finding spare time. The WHO counts cycling and walking for transport as physical activity, and the CDC's activity-friendly routes include protected bike lanes and transit access.

On foot: a brisk commute of 20 to 30 minutes each way, five days a week, covers the weekly aerobic target in itself.
By bike: check for protected or quiet routes, secure bike parking at home and at work, and somewhere to shower or change if the ride is long.
By public transport: even a bus or train commute usually includes walking at both ends. A stop or station ten minutes away on foot adds activity; one at the door adds very little, and one 25 minutes away may push you back to the car.

Test the journey at rush hour before deciding. Maps underestimate waits, crowded platforms and hills. Hybrid working changes the calculation too: two office days a week make a longer active commute more manageable than five.

Somewhere to exercise

Note what is within walking or cycling distance: a public swimming pool, a leisure centre or gym, sports clubs, outdoor fitness equipment in a park, dance or yoga studios, community centres with classes. Public facilities are often cheaper than private ones and run beginner sessions. The best option is the one you will actually use: a modest gym ten minutes away usually gets more visits than a better one forty minutes away.

Clubs and group classes have another benefit in a new city: they are one of the easiest ways to meet people. Running clubs, walking groups, five-a-side football and community gardens combine activity with a social life, which helps during the often lonely first months after a move.

Food shops nearby

The NIDDK lists living near a grocery store that offers healthy, affordable food, including fruit and vegetables, among the things that make healthier choices easier. A market or supermarket within walking distance means more frequent, smaller shops, fresher food and walking built into errands. An area served mainly by fast-food outlets and convenience stores makes balanced meals harder, especially on tired evenings.

Sleep: noise, light and the bedroom

A lively street that is great for walking can be hard to sleep on. The World Health Organization's Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region recommend reducing road traffic noise below 53 decibels averaged over the day, evening and night (Lden), and below 45 decibels at night (Lnight), because noise above these levels is associated with adverse health effects, including disturbed sleep. You cannot measure decibels at a viewing, but you can notice a lot:

Which way does the bedroom face: towards a main road, a railway, a bar, or a courtyard or garden?
Are the windows double or triple glazed, and can you ventilate the bedroom without opening a window onto traffic?
Is there a bus stop, a delivery entrance or a late-night venue right outside?
Are there street lights shining directly into the bedroom?

If you can, visit once in the evening or at night. The NHS advises a quiet, dark and cool bedroom as part of good sleep habits, and adults need at least seven hours a night. Sleep and activity reinforce each other: people who sleep well find it easier to exercise, and regular activity helps sleep. Our guide to better sleep habits covers what you can change once you have moved.

A checklist for viewings

Commute: how long to work on foot, by bike and by public transport at rush hour, and how far to the nearest stop.
Everyday walking: food shop, pharmacy, GP surgery and school within a 15-minute walk, on continuous, lit pavements.
Green space: nearest park and its size; a longer route for running or cycling.
Exercise: pool, gym, clubs or classes within reach.
Bike: safe routes and secure storage.
Sleep: bedroom orientation, glazing, ventilation, light and night-time noise.
Safety and comfort: how the streets feel in the evening and at weekends.

The first weeks after the move

The first weeks are when new habits form, so they are worth a little planning:

Walk the area early. Find two or three walking loops from your door, of different lengths, in the first week.
Set up the commute. Try walking or cycling to work in your first days, before the car or the bus becomes the default.
Book something. A trial class, a club session or a swim gives you a fixed activity while everything else is unsettled.
Protect sleep. Unpack the bedroom first, fit curtains or blinds, and keep a regular bedtime even while boxes are everywhere.
Find the food shops. Locate a market or supermarket on foot so that the first weeks are not all takeaways.
Be patient. Moving is stressful. If routines slip at first, the WHO's advice that every bit of activity counts is a good one to remember.

If you can, rent somewhere flexible for the first months. It gives you time to learn the city from the inside, where the good parks, quiet streets and easy routes really are, before committing to a longer lease or a purchase.

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Strategies for Physical Activity Through Community Design": activity-friendly routes and everyday destinations.
World Health Organization, "Physical activity" fact sheet: activity for transport, policy recommendations.
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, "Environmental noise guidelines for the European Region" (2018).
Community Preventive Services Task Force, "Physical Activity: Built Environment Approaches Combining Transportation System Interventions with Land Use and Environmental Design" (thecommunityguide.org).
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, "Factors Affecting Weight & Health" (niddk.nih.gov).
NHS, "Walking for health" and "How to fall asleep faster and sleep better" (nhs.uk).