Write for literature from the chamber of commerce, city hall, Realtors and city and state visitors centers and tourist offices. Buy a travel guide. Get a mail subscription to the local newspaper. When you first visit to find a house, take back phone directories. To make friends, try volunteering, a nearby church, a book club, adult education classes, local theater, business groups, and exercise classes.
Relocation is one of life's top stress makers.
With some planning, though, the jolt of relocating can be softened, the effort to get established in a new place made easier. Melody McGarrahan moved to Kansas City from Virginia a year ago with her husband, Roger, and two young boys. She missed everything about the old place, including her trees and the neighbors' friendly waves. She missed the small-town atmosphere of the old place in ways she didn't realize until later. McGarrahan's top piece of advice is to spend some time, several weekends if possible, in the new city before moving.