7 Establishments You Need to Locate Before Moving

Guest blog by Madoline Hatter

Moving to a new area can be exciting to say the least. It’s your opportunity to begin a new life with new surroundings and develop new relationships. Knowing where to find some of the important establishments in your area could prevent you from getting frustrated or lost when trying to quell some of the most trivial of needs. Thanks to the power of the Internet, you can do a bit of background research on an area before you arrive.

1. Medical Facilities – While you can rely on 911 services to find their way to a hospital in the event you suffer a major injury, knowing where your medical facilities are located can help you in a variety of ways. Maintaining your health is an important aspect of life and you should know where all of them are located such as hospitals, chiropractors, and dentists.

2. Nearest Gas Station – Until everyone can drive electric vehicles that can operate forever, you still need to know where the gas stations are in your area. As this is such a common need, you can almost find one on every corner of a major street in some areas. However, is it worth the extra drive to save a few cents per gallon if there is a slightly more expensive station nearby?

3. Grocery Stores – One of the first things you’ll need to do after the move is buy the necessities for urban survival. Knowing where grocery stores are located could help you save money on buy-one-get-one free specials, or provide you with an outlet to purchase everything you’ll possibly need.

4. Emergency Services – Some emergencies and instances are beneath those of 911. You may have to call the local dispatch officer in certain events. Knowing where your emergency services are located as well as the phone numbers for such can help you greatly in the event of emergencies. This includes local law enforcement, county sheriff departments, and fire houses.

5. Phone Carrier Office – Does your phone service carrier have an office in the new town? Some people neglect to realize that not all services are provided in all areas. You could be experiencing roaming charges without realizing. Knowing where the office is could help you in the event of changes, repairs, or other account related issues.

6. The DMV – While you may not spend a great deal of time at the DMV, knowing where it is could greatly help you in the future. In the event that you are moving from a different state, you’ll need to replace your driver’s licenses and plates for the automobile. As each area is different pertaining to driving laws, you should also find out what the requirements are for changing plates and licenses before moving to another state.

7. Local Utilities – Paying your bills is an unfortunate fact of life. Knowing where these businesses are can help you keep your utilities from being turned off. Not every location has access to online payments and the human element may still be mandatory in order to pay your bill.

Although an area could provide a great deal of other establishments that could be useful, you should concentrate on your necessities first. While you may like to know where the local bars are, it’s an extravagance that doesn’t qualify as a necessity. Meet your needs first and then look for the fun areas within the area you now call home.

This article is contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com. You can reach her at: m.hatter12@gmail.com.