So you’ve found your dream home — but what about the community around it? If you make one of these common blunders, that home may not be so great after all.

Buyers spend months combing through real-estate listing sites looking for that perfect home: the dwelling that fits their budget and their dreams of a better lifestyle.

But how much time do they spend looking at the area around it? Not nearly enough, says Andrew Schiller, founder and CEO of NeighborhoodScout.

“Most people focus on the house … and only secondarily look at the neighborhood. It should actually be the reverse,” Schiller says.

You can have a glorious house, Schiller says, but you will find your lifestyle suffering if the neighborhood isn’t a good fit. The people, amenities, schools and a host of other factors are what help determine whether you’re living the American dream or just living.

Here are the five biggest mistakes people make in choosing a neighborhood, as well as some tips on scoping out your next community…