Put /sethome not too close from /spawn and build few blocks above ground where you have set your new home. So you can watch down when the terrain gets loaded when you used /home.
1. Be at a location far where you have set your /home
2. Turn you videosettings a bit up so minecraft has to load the terrain
3. Use /home and look down when you are few blocks above ground.
You will see that minecraft is loading up the terrain and see all the caves underground with torches and ores etc. As a lot of servers don't allow X-ray mod this should be a save way to locate them.