Thinking of relocating your store or opening a new one? If you live in a typical U.S. city, take a look at the neighborhoods where consumers are deciding to live. There’s Lincoln Park in Chicago, SoHo in New York and East Village in San Diego. More and more, it seems like residents want easy access to shopping.

Civic officials in Hilltown, Pennsylvania, are studying whether to allow a mix of commercial, residential and retail in an area that would look like more like a 19th century village. Retailers in downtown Syracuse, New York, are eagerly awaiting new housing that will bring more customers who like to walk to shopping from home.

While suburban living is far from dead, the high cost of commuting is causing many empty-nesters and baby boomers to reconsider their living situation. A relative of mine used to pay about $375 a month for his 80-mile round-trip commute. Now it’s more like $615. Since he lives near downtown San Diego, he’s considering looking for a job there and moving nearby. Even with the relatively high cost of housing downtown, he figures he can use the gas savings to pay for a new mortgage. Plus he’ll save money on auto upkeep and insurance. That, and he’s looking forward to walking to the new supermarkets and specialty shops popping up all the time.

I encourage my retail customers to analyze the housing trends in their community when it comes to opening or moving a store. Just having low rent isn’t always the best reason to choose a location. Yes, it might cost a little more to move into the heart of the city. But if a significant number of people are moving there as well, your customer base is already off to a good start.

It’s easy to find out where the live/work/shop hot spots are. Set up search agents for “downtown residential,” “retail shopping trends” and similar terms on your daily newspaper’s website. Also check municipalities’ websites for postings about building permits to see where new businesses are heading. You might find yourself among them soon enough.