In the pre-internet world, moving to a new location was fraught with unknowns. You may have had to do things such as research your new hometown by calling a chamber of commerce or other local groups. And hope someone one the other end was willing to help. But with the rise of the internet and the explosive growth of social media, homeowners have many great options available to research their new location.

Facebook should be your first stop; it’s a goldmine of information for researching and getting acquainted with your new hometown. Almost every location in the United States has a Facebook page that can inform you about everything that’s going on.

Most towns also have a local Patch page, which is akin to reading a local newspaper — it’s an excellent resource for getting detailed news and information. Parents can look up local school and mom’s groups, which provide a wealth of useful information.

The Nextdoor app is a great resource, as well. It’s a hyper-locally targeted, closed ecosystem that contains news, information, people, and other resources located in your immediate vicinity.

Many towns and municipalities also have a Twitter account. Twitter is great when you want to digest a lot of news and information about your hometown in a relatively short period.

Pinterest may seem like an odd choice for research since it contains only pictures. But if you’re a foodie, or perhaps like to go shopping for antiques, you can get a good “picture” of what may be available in your hometown.

One of the great things about these social media platforms is that they can all be accessed via a mobile device. So even if you are on a four-hour drive to your new hometown, you can put the time to good use by doing quite a bit of research!