A few months ago it was decided to move from Birmingham into Houston, Texas. How does one adjust afterwards from a Southern city in the mountains to the nation’s 4th largest metropolis? Web applications, of course! Here is a list for you to guide you into your new city or maybe even help you become a tourist in your own town.
Flickr– The photo sharing site has been a tremendous assistant by observing locales as others see them. Added bonuses: maps with geotags and Flickr groups. As soon as we arrived, there was a flickr meetup at the Museum of Natural Science after hours. That was a blast and I got to meet fellow photogs too.
Yelp– Yelp is an easy way to find, review and talk about what’s great (and not so great) in your new home. What are the best restaurants, dentists, hairstylists? Yelp runs on personal recommendations.
GPS- After the family got settled, it was time to go explore. Well, you don’t just explore an area the size of Houston w/o a guide, it just isn’t done. Our guide has been the Garmin Nuvi 360. Much more convenient and used than the $35 wire-bound mass of a map book that was purchased and is collecting dust!
Tilt- My mobile handset from AT &T has crucial communication features including 3G data, GPS, wifi, photos, video and more. Information in my hands. Fast. Oh, and download the Fring application for IM communication away from your computer.
Twitter– A communication tool that simply asks: “What are you doing?” While still living in Alabama, I befriended mucho Twitterers here in Houston and added to the local conversations remotely. After arriving…instant friends. Brilliant!
Upcoming-All right, now that you have arrived, what is there to do in this town? Anything exciting coming up? Glad you asked and here is your reference tool. Upcoming is a community for discovering and sharing events. It can help you find stuff to do, discover what your friends are doing, or let you keep private events online for your own reference. Bonus: you can add your photos of the event to Flickr and vice versa. Neat!
Your Local Newspaper- Yes, you can use their website, sure. The Houston Chronicle is utilizing new media tools and socializing apps almost better than anyone out there. Still, get the tree-killing kind. Why? There is something to be said for print. Besides, you even get ads you can ignore or use (coupons too)
There are many variations of these tools out there but I have submitted them for you based on my user experience and benefit. I haven’t yet mentioned the local library systems, traffic management tools, radio stations, etc but they are essential as well.
What tools have you used to either discover your new city or explore your hometown? What have I missed? Lay it on us and enjoy the experience!