|
Moving made easier with Internet help By Michael C. Guilmette Jr. Originally published on July 15, 2004, in the Bay Mills News. Moving across country is always a busy, hectic, difficult affair, but it’s one activity in which the Internet can be a useful tool. Nearly all practical aspects of a move can be aided online — determining the best route, finding hotels along the way, researching apartments, and even finding out where to buy comics can be discovered through the Web.
Hotels and restaurants can be found along the route of a move, making the essential functions of eating and sleeping a part of the schedule. Beyond the essentials, travelers can find out information about various sites along the way or even the various routes to be taken, such as the Pennsylvania Turnpike. PATurnpike.com gives mileage and toll statistics, travel advisories, maintenance and construction updates, locations of service plazas and even information on how to do business with the turnpike authority. Thanks to the technological miracle of the Internet, much of the information needed for a major move can be quickly discovered beforehand. However, there are many things that the Internet cannot tell you or prepare you for ahead of time. One of the first things that Northerners notice once they travel south of the Mason-Dixon Line is the pronounced Southern accents of the local inhabitants. Sure, this could actually be found out online, and an intrepid researcher may even find audio samples on the Web, but the Internet does not truly give you the experience of understanding someone speaking with a pronounced drawl. On the same note, the Internet does not prepare someone who comes from walking distance of the Canadian border to be told that you are actually the one with an accent. You can find out the flora and fauna of your new home away from home, including the native animals and insects, but it will not prepare you for the singular joy of waking up with an inch and a half long spider staring you in the face. You can find out online that your new home is in the county seat, but it will not tell you that the said county seat consists only of a handful of buildings and a truck stop. You can also find out online what interesting and important people live in — or have died in — your new area, and it can also tell you a whole range of trivia and minutia, but the Internet is no substitute to actually experiencing the peculiarities directly. Furthermore, the Internet will not make you appreciate how friendly and courteous the people can be, especially when you are coming off of a long trip and you just want to settle in to your new home. In short, the Internet is a tool for a successful trip, but it is no substitute to actually going and seeing. Nor should it be. However, the Internet may help you find a name for your new eight-legged roommate. • Mike Guilmette is a freelance columnist and the layout editor for The Daily Advance in Elizabeth City, N.C. His website can be seen at http://www.sigperl.com/. |
|||
|
|||
|
Copyright © 2004, Michael C. Guilmette Jr. |
Many of these things could be effectively researched prior to the digital age, but what the Internet offers is the convenience of looking everything up in one sitting. Many websites cater to these needs as well. Mapquest.com is a popular site for planning road trips, since it provides detailed road maps of the entire United States. Some will debate whether Mapquest actually gives the best route, since some people may not prefer to include the Capitol Beltway, the four-lane circus that surrounds Washington, D.C. as part of their trip, but by in large, it is pretty accurate.
