Air quality maps
When choosing a home, it's wise to consider air quality if you want to live healthily, because simply moving to the countryside doesn't automatically mean the air is better. Dirty city air is blown out to the countryside, and depending on the wind direction, the air quality in rural areas is often worse than in the city. Of course, the wind direction changes daily, but by looking at air quality maps over a longer period, you can often see a trend indicating which places generally have better or worse air quality. This is, of course, very often dependent on local traffic, i.e., how many drivers commute into the city and how many trucks pass through.
In winter, the air quality can also be worse in rural areas, as old furnaces are often still in use and heating with wood and oil is more common.
