Call in advance and make a list of people to contact as soon as you're settled. Don't forget your activities and interests. Use these hobbies as starting points. Ask for names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of their friends and associates in your new location. It's always easier to call a stranger if a mutual friend referred you.
Most people are happy to welcome friends of friends.
When you arrive, phone each person and ask to go for a walk, meet for coffee or for directions to the best bakery in town. After You Arrive 1. This is a new life adventure, an opportunity to start over again. Sure, you're an adult with definite preferences, but life is filled with new possibilities. It's easy to say no and stay comfortably in a rut.