Moving is exhausting and when it's over, the urge to collapse and hibernate is strong. But, eventually you'll have to emerge from your cave of boxes and get out of the house. Here are a few ways to know your new neighborhood before you step out of the door.
1. Know how to get around. Though wandering around your new 'hood is a great way to discover hidden gems and get a feel for your surroundings, getting hopelessly lost is not ideal. So orient yourself by memorizing main roads around you on Google Maps. Also, look up your city's public transit site and check to see if they have any supported mobile apps (for Boston, Catch the T and Catch the Bus are good options). Then you're free to wander to your heart's content, knowing you can find your way home.
2. Know where to eat and shop. Though it's good advice to take reviews with a grain of salt, user-rated websites like Yelp, UrbanSpoon, and Citysearch can give you an indication of what shops and restaurants you might want to check out in your neighborhood. See if your neighborhood has a local business association, and use that as a reference to support area commerce. Your city's magazines and newspapers often have a "Best of" feature and finding that list online is a web search away. Although I've been a resident for 10 years now, I still make it a point to check out as many of Boston's Best Of winners each year.
3. Know where to have fun and meet people. There are many choices for websites that post local events. You can start with your local newspaper's event calendar. Then check area Meetups for people with similar interests. If volunteering is your thing, Idealist is a great place to find worthy causes in your neighborhood. If you're into social media, find your city's influential tweeters and follow them on Twitter. For example, BostonTweet is the guy to follow for news, giveaways and things to do in Boston.
4. Know where to relax. It's important to take some time to enjoy nature, especially in the city. Find out about the local green spaces from your city's Parks & Recreation department. In addition to showing you the nearest coffee shop and salon, Walkscore also has a parks category.
What are your tips for exploring a neighborhood online?
Image: Tara Bellucci.
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Google Maps "streetview" is great for taking a virtual walk around before you actually get there. You can become familiar with the streetscape and what the surrounding buildings and intersections look like.
Before moving to Uk I've found the website http://www.upmystreet.com/ that tells your neighbourhood's profile (Family income, Interest in current affairs, Housing - with mortgage, Educated to degree level, Couples with children, Have satellite TV), crime rates, council taxes, transports, schools (with the average point scores), house prices and so on. I found it very useful but at the same time, a bit scaring... because, according to the (few) people I know who live in England (and for what I've seen) the results are reliable. Local forums can be useful sources too. Ah, and of course I've used google maps, in particular the street view, to find points of reference (since I'm easy to get lost!) and to chech that in the area we were about to move there were enough shops, supermarkets and everything else I wanted.
I don't know about other cities, but Philadelphia's uwishunu.com is the best way to find out what's going on in Philly. You can also see if there are any local business improvement districts or neighborhood improvement districts that might have informational websites or host events. universitycity.org or centercityphila.org are good ones in Philly.
If you want to meet new people, try Meetup.com. You can join groups that fit your interest in your area. Lots revolve around trying new restaurants or new activities. Lots of members tend to be newcomers to the area, so you can get to know the new neighborhood all together!
Neighborhood listservs! I wish I'd known they existed when I first moved to my current neighborhood 8 years ago...they would have saved me a lot of grief trying to find decent plumbers, contractors, local service providers, etc. Ask your realtor or landlord if you can't find one through internet searching, as they're sometimes private closed lists.
Don't forget blogs. No joke, do a search on blogs in and around your soon to be neighborhood. My wife and I run our odltownhome.com blog about home renovation and living in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. In addition to talking about our home renovation, we try to cover everything from places to eat, where to shop, fun events, tips about DC, and anything else fun we stumble on.
I know there are at least a dozen local DC blogs that do similar stuff, all geared to specific neighborhoods. This trend actually extends around the world in most major cities. Look around and find some local resources that you can draw first hand knowledge from. No better way to know an area than through a local.
uwishunu is fantastic! Some neighborhoods in Philly also have websites. East Passyunk's site lists events, local businesses and lots of photos.
Shortly after I moved from California to the very small town of Sultan, Washington, I did a Google search for the town's name and found a blog indicating that Sultan citizens were fighting a planned 600-acre gravel pit right near town. I had chosen to live in Sultan because of its beautiful setting, so I was horrified to read about the pit. I immediately became involved in the fight and made some wonderful, wonderful friends in the process. And, by the way, we won the fight.
Volunteering for a cause you believe in is a great way to make friends in a new community and also do some good.
Local blogs on entertainment, restaurant and event options can be very helpful. So are blogs on the major newspapers and various independent ones.
The caliber of local blogs can vary dramatically (very solid and on-target while others seem to have some axe to grind or are very limited in appeal) but the good ones really give you an idea of a city and/or specific neighborhoods.
As a business traveler who spends time in a lot of U.S. cities and the environs, these local blogs have been very helpful.
When you've moved, your new neighbors should be a good source of advice and recommendations. Check out some local events to see who attends and when you see a kindred spirit(s), ask them for recommendations and input.
Usually, patterns of recommendations develop, no matter how many different types of people you survey (age, income, interests, etc.). It's rare that you'll only hear one place mentioned once or one mention of a service provider.
Depending on where you are, and your own interests, you'll find what you're looking for sooner or later. Actually, the fun is in the process of checking things out and discovering on your own.
I highly suggest a website called I-Neighbors (http://www.i-neighbors.org/) and it's free to set up for any 'hood! It's been a great tool since I first moved into my neighborhood 2 years ago. Unfortunately, there is some drama that goes on that website, but it's been instrumental in getting to know people in my neighborhood, as well as finding recommendations for plumbers and getting information about crimes happening around the 'hood.
I like everyblock.com although the amount of info depends on the number of people that post things for your particular block. At least you get to see crime reports (like home break-ins) and home listings.
Tara, it's like you knew I was coming! I'm planning my first cross-country move (by myself!) next summer to Boston and these posts are extremely helpful.
I moved across the country from this year. When I arrived I already had a knitting group through Meetup.com, I looked for blogs from the area to get an idea of what the residents were like, and "drove" around on Google Earth. If the local newspaper has an online version you can really get a lot of good information. I live on Cape Cod, and most of the local news is not reported off Cape. The local papers are a gold mine of information.