Safety Tips When Moving to a New City
Moving to a new city should be an exciting time, not something that fills you with peril. Generally, it isn’t too hard to stay safe when you are moving to a new city, but there are a few essentials that you need to consider to ensure that your move is smooth and you don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger. Unfortunately, many cities do have areas where crime is higher, and areas you might not feel as comfortable spending your time.
It’s vital to keep your family safe, and the tips below can help you to ensure that you don’t need to worry.
Tip 1. Get a Security System For Your Home
Even if you live in an area where the crime rate is so low, it just makes good sense to keep your home free from intruders. It doesn’t take much to make your home smarter and more secure.
You can buy security camera systems more affordable than ever before, and other technological advances have made it easier to film what is going on near your home. Smart doorbell systems can be set up to automatically take a video when anyone is nearby, which means that any potential criminals may be caught on camera.
You can also set up systems like alarms if you are concerned. These can act as a deterrent, and anyone who might be tempted to try and steal, or worse, might think twice.
Tip 2. Get To Know Your Neighbors
Hopefully, you will be moving to a really nice neighborhood where everyone has each others’ backs. There’s no guarantee of this, of course, but it is worth introducing yourself to your neighbors and chatting to them about the local area.
Not only can your neighbors be good allies to have, keeping an eye out for any disturbances and even checking on you periodically, but they can also be a great sounding board. You will be able to ask them about the local area to see if there are places you should stay away from.
The majority of people who have a strong network of neighbors feel a lot safer on a day to day basis. The value of good neighbors in a strange city is huge, so you should be delighted if neighbors come round to introduce themselves.
Tip 3. Do Some Research Before Moving
Before you move or agree to move to a new area, it is important to do some research and understand what the area is like. It is a good idea to run a reverse address lookup to check the neighborhood, whether it is modern, and even check statistics like the crime rate in the area so you will know how safe it is in the neighborhood.
You can do some research on the other areas of the city, too, it isn’t just about where you are living, it is about knowing where is safe to walk at night. Forums and local apps can be a great way to find out this sort of information.
Tip 4. Get Involved With The Community
You can get a good feel for the community just by joining social media groups and chatting to some of the locals. There are usually buying/selling groups and community groups that you can join. It’s good to join these long in advance and even if you don’t start to post on them or ask questions about the city, you can start to pick up knowledge about what is happening in the city and the safe places you can go.
Tip 5. Ask Around At Work
There’s every chance that when you move to a new city, you are starting a new job in that city. This gives you an opportunity to chat to your co-workers and see if they have any local knowledge to share. The places to go, and the places to definitely avoid. Don’t be alarmed if you find your co-workers telling you horror stories about areas of the city, just take note of these places and remember that every city has these areas.
Tip 6. Plan Your Walking Routes
If you need to walk to take public transport, go to the store or visit someone, you should think about the route beforehand. This means establishing if there are streetlights, and if there are areas where you feel safe when walking or if you have to go down any shady alleyways. Only walk around the areas where you feel the most confident. Even if you get cabs everywhere until you feel confident, it is better than taking risks.
Tip 8. Remember the Safety Basics
When you knew everyone in your old home and knew a lot about the city, you might have stopped worrying or even taking precautions.
The basics you learn about safety, such as making sure someone knows where you are and what time to expect you home, memorizing vital phone numbers, or even keeping an alarm on your person.
You might have heard about places with low crime rates where people don’t bother to lock the doors, but we would never recommend this, you should always be careful about your home and ensure that your neighborhood is as safe as possible.
Conclusion
When you are moving to a new city, there are plenty of challenges to overcome. You can use Billy.com to find local services in your area, including home security professionals to help equip your home with all of the alarms and CCTV cameras you might need in order to stay safe and give you that extra level of peace of mind. An added bonus is the fact that security professionals in your area might be able to give you further advice about the city when installing your smart doorbell or CCTV.
About Author:
Ben Hartwig is a web operations director at InfoTracer. He authors guides on marketing and entire cybersecurity posture and enjoys sharing the best practices. You can contact the author via LinkedIn.
