NFA Finance

I think the answer changes depending on whether you’re visiting or moving there. If you’ve got a few days, you want to see the sights, find some good food, and enjoy yourself. But when you move somewhere completely new, you want to learn how the place actually works. You’re trying to find your way around and figure out where you fit into it.

When I moved to a new city, I started with the regular stuff. I’d go out in the morning, hit the coffee shops, mingle, and talk to people. That’s a good start. Get out of the house. Have a conversation. Learn something from somebody who already lives there.

But the honest-to-God truth? The best thing I did to learn the city was drive Uber.

Think about it. Every passenger has somewhere they want to go. You’re following their plans, and those plans take you all over town. Instead of driving the same route from your house to the same handful of places, you’re going where other people are going.

That’s how I started learning the nooks and crannies. The hot spots. Places I wouldn’t have thought to look for on my own. You can drive past somewhere a hundred times without giving it much thought, but when people keep asking you to take them there, you start paying attention.

And you get to talk to people along the way. At a coffee shop, you meet whoever happens to be sitting nearby. Driving Uber puts different people in your car throughout the day. A conversation can give you another piece of the city: somewhere to check out, something you didn’t know, a reason people like a particular area.

There’s also something about driving the streets yourself. Looking at a map helps, but actually going through the neighborhoods gives you a feel for how everything connects. With enough trips, the city starts becoming familiar. You recognize the turns. You know where you are. Places that once felt completely separate start making sense together.

I liked that I could earn money while I was learning. I was getting out, meeting people, and figuring out my new surroundings at the same time. For me, that made a lot of sense.

I’m not saying everybody needs to sign up to drive Uber when they move. But it taught me something about exploring: you’ve got to give yourself reasons to go beyond your usual stops. Otherwise, it’s easy to move to a whole new city and only get to know a tiny part of it.

Go to the coffee shop. Talk to people. Ask where they go. Then get out and follow up on what you hear.

For me, driving Uber was the thing that opened the city up. I learned it one ride, one conversation, and one destination at a time.

— Nicholas Francis
Modern Day Dealer
NFAFinance.com