Long distance moves are generally more difficult. Not only do you have to travel very far. It's also harder to find a new home since you currently live long distance. This would not be a problem if you are moving due to a job opportunity and your company will sponsor a trip to the new area beforehand. But then if you are moving on your own, you would have limited choices.   Before anything else, you need to choose the part of the city where you would want to live in. This would be dictated by what kind of lifestyle you want to live. You may also have your priorities like good schools for your kids or the amount of commuting you can handle each day. After that, you can now decide on the specifics of the house. For one, you have to decide how many rooms and how many bathrooms you want in your new home. You should put all of this in writing too.   To know how much you can afford, you should get pre-qualified and pre-approved for a loan. And since you are far from the area having a realtor would make things easier. The good thing about having a realtor is you can immediately get an idea on how expensive houses are in the area. You can give him your requirements and he will get back to you with some houses that satisfy them. But then it's always better to check out the houses in person before buying. If you can take the trip, that would be good. But if you can't it would be safer to rent for the meantime and take a closer look of the houses when you get there.