How to learn a new city

Aaron and I have recently realized that at this point in our moving in/learning a new city we have a choice. We don't start class until the end of February, and we don't leave for travel until January 13th. So that meant this week, we had a choice each morning to either not venture out into the cold, gray weather and staying warm and cozy at home, OR we could venture out, wearing layers and layers of clothes (I'm wearing long johns for the first time in my life) and learn our city, our new home.

But, how do you learn a new city? We are doing it by getting on every and any bus that comes by our house and ride it until it ends.

Our first bus ride was a 45 minute ride to the southwest of our city. We quickly went off of the map Aaron and I were using to track our route, and ended up here:

It's kind of hard to tell from this picture what exactly is out here, but let me tell you - it was nothing. This was it. This is where all the buses stop, and the bus drivers take their nap before their next bus route. On the way out here, we watched as our surroundings got dustier and dustier and the industrial parks increased. This is where the hard workers live. If I ever need to buy construction equipment, I now know which bus to ride.

Our second bus trip was a much more successful bus ride in my eyes, as this is where we ended up:

We ended up within walking distance to H&M, Sephora, Starbucks, Subway, Ikea, and a European sports store called Decathalon. Much better ending I would say. On this bus trip we stayed on the map, and discovered where to go in our city if we ever need anything computer related, or if we need to buy a new bike.

I'm sure the other buses have pretty good stops, but I think we've already hit the jackpot. Especially considering taxis to this area cost us at least $20 USD roundtrip, and just over $1 USD roundtrip on the bus.