Column: Before You Go - Getting Information About Your New Town

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One of the best ways to get a feel for your new area is to send away for as much literature as you can, before you go. If you have the new locality’s Yellow Pages, it becomes much easier to arrange for the services you will require when you arrive.

Reading your new town’s Sunday paper for a couple of months will help you feel like less of a stranger when you arrive. More ideas, and instructions on how to get these resources, appear below.

Sunday Paper You can have the Sunday paper from your new town sent to you by contacting their subscription department. Reading the Sunday paper for a few months before your move will familiarize you with the big local issues in your new town, give you an idea of what’s available in entertainment, employment and housing, and it will feature ads for upcoming events and attractions – giving you something to look forward to after you arrive.

You can, of course, simply browse the online edition of your new local paper, but I would recommend having physical copies sent for a few weeks, at least. This way, you see all the ads and pictures and have a more tangible connection with the place. You will be able to find subscription information, or a contact number, on the paper’s website.

You can find out what paper serves your new location at these sites:

The Paperboy

A searchable directory that finds all the papers for your locality and then links you directly to the online edition of that paper (if one exists).

Yahoo Media & News Directory

This is a list of publications arranged in various lists (by region, by interest, etc.)

Yellow Pages

You will be able to get a copy of this from your new local telephone company. You can also access many of these directories in your regional or city library.

Tourist Guides and Maps

Tourist Guides are an obvious way to find out more about the region you are moving to. They include maps of the major areas of interests (although these will not be comprehensive), information on climate and travel as well as the usual ‘what to do here’ information. Free visitor’s guides are often available from the local visitor’s bureau or tourist information center. More comprehensive, glossy guides can be purchased in bookstores.

Tourism Offices Worldwide

This site’s name is fairly self-explanatory. This is an easy to use, quick directory that will provide contact information for visitor’s centers and tourism offices around the world.

Concierge.com

Provides city guides and tourist information you can browse online. Like most online guides however, it only lists large cities that are likely tourist destinations. If there is a large city near you, this may be of use. Otherwise, stick to the Visitor’s Bureau

School Newsletter

If you are going to be sending children to school in the new area, or simply want to get involved in the local education, you should send away for the school, or school district newsletter. This will generally be a list of announcements, accomplishments and often, budgetary information. Call the local school board and ask for copies of any publication routinely sent to residents of the school district. See how the school presents itself to the world.

Department of Education School Locator

You can find contact information for any school district in the US here. You do need to know the name of the school district you will be moving to.

School Newspaper

If you are moving with children you may be able to help them by subscribing to their new school’s newspaper. This will help them to get to know what’s going on at the new school before they arrive. You can use a search engine such as Yahoo! to find these papers. Yahoo’s list of school papers (by no means complete) is here:

You may want to inquire about this when you call the district for the newsletter.

Regional Magazines

Most regions have a magazine that focuses on life in that area. Like the Sunday paper and the school newspaper, this is something that will help you get a feel for your new area.

Again, use a directory such as Yahoo's magazine listings to find magazines in your area, or use an online subscription service like Magazines.com (although their search function is not so hot).

Professional Directories

If you will be looking for a new job, you may be able to do some networking through business directories. If your occupation has a professional association, the association will probably offer a directory of its members. You can use this to find colleagues in the region you are moving to. Set up some informational meetings with a couple of these people (either telephone meetings or face-to-face a few weeks after you arrive).

If you are not a member of a professional organization, or are thinking of changing careers, look in your library for listings of business directories. You can use these to make contacts and create a new network. You may also want to contact your local Chamber of Commerce.

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In all of these searches, remember that you are aiming to be as comfortable with your new region as you are with your current home. Of course, that level of comfort will take a long time to achieve, but why not get a head start by sending away for some of these resources before you move?