A New Place

It's kind of fun moving to new places all the time. I do it a lot for work; I work a few months here, a few months there... and now that I am home for a little while, I have lived in two different places and am now moving to my third place today. I am a planner kind of person, so before going to a new place, there are a few things I research.
(1) Running Clubs -- I don't join the running clubs, but I have found that they can be an excellent source of knowledge about where to run, races and other running related things. I found out about the Ohlone 50k that I volunteered for through a running club in Oakland; I found out about where to run in NYC through a running club there. As you probably know, runners are fun people and like to talk about, you guessed it, running. So I try to find a runner and ask them questions about what I want to know!
(2) Running Routes -- Even if I don't find a person or club to get advice from, one of the first things I do is get on Google Maps or Dailymile and find out where the good running routes are near my new place. A few things I look for: (a) trails, (b) routes where there are minimal street crossings and (c) routes that have a nice view. For Santa Cruz, I can run in the mountains or on the ocean cliffs. I am looking forward to both, as well as finding new routes.

Where I will be running this week.

(3) The Library -- I always find out (a) where the nearest library is and (b) what the card policy is. In Missouri when I was working, if you were not a local, you could pay $15 per year to have a card. In Oakland, cards are available to any CA residents. In Santa Cruz, if you have another CA Library card, you can have visitor privileges. Luckily, there is a library about a mile from the new place!
(4) The Burrito -- I always say, if there is not a burrito within walking distance, I don't want to live there. Luckily, there is a taqueria only about a half a mile away. Yes, this is a criteria.
(5) The Grocer -- I also like to walk for groceries. I found no less than 5 grocery stores (including a natural food store and a neighborhood bodega) less than a mile away.

2 = running route, 3 = library, 4 = burrito, 5 = grocery store (scale = from 2 to 3 is about 2.5 miles)

I always start with these. Of course there are man other things I like to research, but these are the basics!
What do you always find out before you move to / visit a new place?