Some people are deathly afraid of moving. Even those of us who move all the time, like Tip Dude does, don’t like the process of relocation a whole lot. You have to connect to all new services, not just for phone and Internet, but also for simple things like banks, grocery stores and the tailor. While these tips will not making moving any easier, hopefully they will help you connect to resources that will help you and your life hit the ground running:

• Walk Down Main Street - Main Street isn’t always called Main Street - sometimes it’s Washington Street, Broadway, High Street or sometimes simply Route 110. It’s the one major thoroughfare close to your new residence where all of the businesses gather. Walking down Main Street is important for several reasons. First, it gives you an idea of where you could find essential services if an emergency arise at your new location. Secondly, it will make you more comfortable with your new neighborhood, because you’ll get an idea as to what the place looks like, what kind of people are there, and what do the locals do. You may wish to do this before or after you sign a lease on your new housing - although, in Tip Dude’s experience, usually you won’t discover important things about the neighborhood until you actually live there. So, don’t worry too much about it beforehand - you’re going to be surprised no matter which neighborhood you choose.
• Take Note of Essential Services - You will want to make a list, either mental or written, of all the places you discovered on Main Street. Tip Dude always make a mental note of where he could find the following services in a new location: grocery store, convenience store, 99-cent store, big box store (Target, Wal*Mart, Carrefour, or your local equivalent), department store, mall, laundry, Chinese food, pizza, subs, chip shop, bakery, cafe, fast food, fried chicken, electronics supply, computer repair, doctor’s office, dentist, vet, bank, post office, fax/copy/courier (like UPS Store or FedEx Kinko’s), office supply, auto repair, gas station, book store, hardware store, electrician, plumber, real estate agent… Of course, some of these will not be immediately obvious as you stroll down Main Street, but you’d be surprised how much you can discover just by walking around. A written list is very handy because you won’t be overwhelmed by all the choices in the Yellow Pages, and you will feel like you ‘own’ the place if you have your own personal list of where you’d find things you need.
• Embrace “I Live Here Darn It, And I Own The Place” - The number one mistake people make when moving is to consider themselves an outsider. This is mostly a psychological battle that it’s critical to win. To feel truly comfortable in a new environment, you really need all the information about the new location, whether they are good or bad. You need to know where the ritzy stores are, where the yuppies eat, where the teenagers hang out, where the druggies do their business and where there’s a bar fight every Saturday night. When getting to know a new place, Tip Dude usually maps out the area and spend some time going places just to ‘cover’ the area. The first time Tip Dude usually drives or takes the bus, so that if the area is really dangerous at least there is a way of getting out of it quickly. Once Tip Dude becomes familiar with the area, if it is worth checking out, he’ll get off the bus or park the car and walk around, even just to see it and get a feel of what is going on. Of course, you have to genuinely believe you own the place and not act all skittish - if you do, you’re like a beacon for the lowlife. The chances are, if you project an air of confidence, mind your own business and look like you own the place, you will discover that the worst criminals in the area probably aren’t interested in you, and the petty guys looking to rob tourists daren’t even touch you. If you still don’t feel comfortable about exploring on your own, ask a friend to go with you. The sooner you do this after you move in, the more comfortable you will be with where you live. If you never find out how bad the bad parts of your town is, then you’ll always imagine it to be much worse than it really is. For one, Tip Dude went down 125 Street in Harlem and discovered it was a great place to get fried chicken. You decide for yourself whether you’re comfortable with that - but if you hadn’t been there to look, you’d never have known, and the popular media would have had you believe shootings happen there every hour. It doesn’t. At least, Tip Dude was there for an hour and didn’t see a shooting.
• Ask Your New Neighbors - As a rule, Tip Dude doesn’t like neighbors. Even so, neighbors can be a useful source of information when you first move in. People are generally helpful until they get to know you. So, don’t be shy when you first move in to ask neighbors where you might find certain services. Of course, you should have explored Main Street first, because it would sound pretty idiotic if you asked them where the laundromat was and there is one at the street corner just one block down.
• Ask Your Co-Workers - If you moved because of a job change, co-workers are often helpful in helping you get oriented to the new city. They can recommend services they have used that are near work or near where they live. Depending on the size of the town you work in, where they live may or may not be convenient to you. Regardless, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Even if you moved within the same city, and didn’t change jobs, you can still ask around at work and see if anyone lives close to your new neighborhood and therefore can give you useful information about your new location.
• Get a Neighborhood Guide - Depending on where you live, you might be able to find a neighborhood guide online, in a Chamber of Commerce building, or in a bookstore. In New York, NFT Guide (Not For Tourists) is very helpful. In smaller towns, the Chamber of Commerce will often produce a free directory of businesses and services. For most major cities in the U.S., you will find at least some information on-line about how to access services, but their quality can vary. Just type “Mission San Diego Laundromat” into your favorite search engine if you are looking for a place to do your laundry in Mission San Diego - but don’t be surprised if you find lots of references to San Francisco. Google knows that San Diego is not the only city with a mission district.
• Use Online Location Resources - Besides using search engines, some online services will allow you to narrow down services by neighborhood. Craig’s List, Yelp, Citysearch, Zagat Survey , and Google Local (a Google Maps feature) would all allow you to drill down by location. However, be aware of what you might be getting into: Craig’s List will tend to connect you to cheaper places and sometimes to individuals offering services - you may or may not be comfortable with calling a plumber who works out of his house. Yelp can be a little on the pricey side, because of the demographic of people offering reviews. Citysearch is like a Yellow Pages, offering a lot of information but leave you confused as to who you should choose. Zagat Survey is focused on restaurant and entertainment, although they are quickly expanding to cover other services. Google Local Tip Dude finds very helpful, for example typing in “Dentist near Porter Square, Cambridge, MA” and then clicking on “Maps” brings up a list of 10 dental offices and a map with their locations shown on thumb tacks.
• Use Services From Your Old Neighborhood - You have to buy groceries locally, and if a pipe breaks you have to call a local plumber. But for many services, you could work with a known vendor in your old neighborhood and most transactions could be completed on-line. For example, Tip Dude moved to a total of six times (including Boston to New Hampshire to Long Island to New York), and kept the same credit union that he’s been dealing with since 2001. Each and every time Tip Dude moved, he opened an account with a local bank and found their services unsatisfactory. The fact of the matter is that if you use direct deposit and buy almost everything on a debit card, and your bank has a wide network of fee-free or low-fee ATMs, then you rarely actually need to go to the branch at all. You can do the same thing with on-line vendors - Tip Dude continues to order books from Amazon.com, shoes from Zappos.com or Shoebuy.com , and pants from Aramark-Uniform.com. Sometimes it is simply easier to use a vendor that you have known and trusted for years. Another example: Tip Dude continues to use a dentist on Long Island - because he’s known for good work and Tip Dude hadn’t been able to find anyone to recommend a dentist near where he lives. For the 3-4 times a year that an average person needs to go to the dentist, it really isn’t that much trouble to make the trip.
• Pay Attention to TV, Radio, Billboard And Subway Advertisements - Normally, Tip Dude hates TV. But he finds TV advertisements handy when getting to know a new neighborhood. A big operator in one locale might not have a presence at all in your new locale. The ads are a good way to know who the big operators are in the area. For example, in Boston, the big place to buy beds is called Mattress Discounters. In New York, it’s Sleepy’s. In both cities, you could buy a bed from Ikea, but Ikea doesn’t specialize in beds the way Mattress Discounters and Sleepy’s do. This is the kind of information you’d have to gather from the ads. Even if you don’t end up going to the big player for a bed, it’s helpful to browse their store at least once so you have all the information before making a purchase decision. You will feel much better about buying an Ikea bed if you’ve been to a different vendor and noticed that you preferred the industrial design that Ikea offers.
• Know Your Malls - Tip Dude knows lots of people who hate the mall and think it’s a place where teenagers hang out. That might be true, but malls are undeniably one of the best resources when it comes to looking for a service you need. If you live in the city without a car, it is worth knowing how to get to transit-friendly malls using public transit. If you drive, you should spend some time driving around all the area malls so you know what’s in each one. Because malls are populated with national or regional specialty chains such as Bath & Body Works, Old Navy, Payless ShoeSource, Ann Taylor, LL Bean, Circuit City, Walden Books, they can sometimes give you a feeling of familiarity and comfort. You’d instantly know where you would buy that Gore-Tex jacket that you really need this weekend but lost in the move. You will feel much less lost in the new city if you know where these vendors are. Some malls also have an online presence, so you can google the name of your favorite mall and check if they have that store you really need. Tip Dude’s Favorite are: The Prudential Center and Copley Mall, Boston; Cambridgeside Galleria, Cambridge; The Loop in Methuen, Massachusetts; Westfield South Shore Plaza, Long Island; South Street Seaport, Lower Manhattan.

How do you orient yourself in a new city?

• Top Ten Tips - Getting Rid Of Things (11)
• Top Ten Tips - Adding More Walking Into Your Day (9)
• Top Ten Tips - Riding Public Transit In An Unfamiliar City (11)
• Top Ten Tips - Being A Courteous Host (6)
• Top Ten Tips - Packing For Your First Dorm Room (18)