Blackstone Interviewed by Today Moms

University of Maine sociologist Amy Blackstone was interviewed for an article posted Aug. 29 on the TODAY show website about what factors, other than price, are important to parents looking to buy a home. Blackstone says it’s not surprising that proximity to family was cited by just 33 percent of the more than 2,000 parents surveyed by Trulia.com, an online residential real estate site. “Geographic proximity is one measure of closeness and support, but type and quality of contact are others,” says the chair of UMaine’s sociology department. Parents surveyed indicated that size of home (70 percent), neighborhood crime rates (69 percent), schools (63 percent), length of commute to work (58 percent), and proximity to amenities (50 percent) are top considerations.