Moving to a new city, either as a student in order to attend University or as an adult chasing a job opportunity, can feel pretty intimidating at first. You’re just some person way out of their comfort zone in a big, unknown place, and though you may know people here, it’s not like they can hold your hand 24/7. Here are 3 things to keep in mind while getting used to your new life.
The public transport system is your friend
I cannot stress enough how important this is. Unless you’re within walking distance of your University, workplace or any other place you’ll have to visit often, you will have to thoroughly study the public transport system of the city, or, at the very least, the bits relevant to you. Sure, you could technically walk to your destination, or call an Uber, but the former is pretty time-consuming and the latter would end up burning a hole in your wallet eventually. Public transport, on the other hand, is cheap, convenient, and, while not as eco-friendly as walking, is a decent middle ground.
At this point, you may ask me, is there any point in doing this if you have your own car? And the answer is, yes, there is. Aside from learning how to get from point A to point B, you’ll also get a better grasp of the city’s neighbourhoods and more important districts just by association with the bus or metro stations nearby.
Going out and having fun is a great way to expand your horizons
Studying the public transport system is a more theoretical way of getting to know your city better, but the better and more practical way is to just go and see what’s up for yourself. Have you heard of a nice restaurant in a nearby neighbourhood? Go there sometimes for lunch. Are you the sporty time? You might enjoy going jogging in that one park near that one big mall. Or, are you the bookish type? Check out the city’s library. You might already know how to get there, now all that’s left is to put that knowledge to use.
It’s even better if you have friends in this new city. Chances are that, if you were to ask them, they’d be more than happy to act as your personal tour guide and show you all their favourite spots. You get to know the city better and you spend some quality time with your friends, that’s what I call hitting two birds with one stone. And if you don’t have any friends? Well, I’m sure there’s plenty of clubs or hobby groups just waiting for you to join them.
There is no need to be in a hurry
This isn’t about what to do in order to learn more about the city so much as it is about how to go about doing the other things I’ve mentioned in this article. Have you ever noticed that, some time after you rush through a book, you don’t really remember all that much from it? You might remember some important characters and key plot points, but everything else is more or less fuzzy.
In much the same way, if you are too hasty about learning all there is to know about the city, you’ll end up being overwhelmed. You will still remember a thing or two, but it definitely won’t as enjoyable an experience as it could have been had you taken your time.
It will take a while before you adjust to the new city, but before long you’ll know it like the back of your hand. As long as you live, you learn, right? So, as long as you go about your day there, you’ll learn all you need to know about it, eventually.
