This is a wonderful and well thought out list, thanks for putting it together (though I'm sorry you found them out through hard experience! The commute part is terrible!)

If I can add one, it would be to find somebody who has not lived in the area all their lives, and ask them what their reception as a newcomer to the area was like and whether they feel accepted into the community. When I was a teen, that's the one my family found out through hard experience, in a small town that was hostile toward outsiders!