How do you get to know a city well/local roads?

[Ghost10bxl]

I have been living in Manchester, UK all my life however I still don't know the city as well as some of my friends.

I end up using Google Maps and Waze a lot. I know there is nothing wrong with that, but I'd still like to know the city inside out. Some of my family members are taxi drivers and they can get from any place to another no problem. I get that they are on the road 24/7 but some of my friends who aren't taxi drivers also know the city really well.

The question is how can I get to know the city really well and know the major routes and the local/back roads especially during rush hour instead of getting stuck in traffic etc. Should I study a map? or write down local routes?

[Ghost10bxl]

MrGTI6 said:

People are hugely reliant on sat-navs now even for fairly short, local journeys. I've lived in the same sort of area all my life and like to think I have a good local knowledge. And I often disagree with what a sat-nav considers to be the quickest route!

Exactly, I don't want to rely on sat-nav for local journeys, what advice do you have to improve local knowledge?

[Ghost10bxl]

sociopath said:

Simple answer is to cycle around it.

How does cycling over driving help improve the knowledge? Especially, routes slightly further away, I'd imagine it would be a lot more time consuming?

[Ghost10bxl]

springfan62 said:

You are not learning it because you are relying on Google and Waze.

Stop using them, make some mistakes and learn the routes.

I know that's the problem. I have pretty much stopped using Google Maps for a good while now. Was just wondering what's the best way to learn a city. Would it be to learn the major roads

[Ghost10bxl]

sherman said:

Best way to learn a city is go shopping or to an attraction at the area you dont know. It will teach you how to get there and connect blank spots in your map as you drive through them. You will go "Ahh thats where that road goes to " for instance.

Order click and collect from one of the other branches in the city, not your local.

Haha I really like this idea, will definitely try this out next time I order. Thank you.

How would you go to the area in the first place though? If you don't know how to get there?

[Ghost10bxl]

sherman said:

Sat nav to start with and to make sure you go the right way. You will soon get to know landmarks etc and be less reliant on the sat nav.

You will soon be like Im in X but want to go to Y. I know its beside B. I have been to B before. If I cross B that should be correct.
There will be small gaps in your map in your head but if you know where the big landmarks that you know are in relation to where you are you can get a feel for how to move about

That makes sense, thank you so much. I will try this

[Ghost10bxl]

sociopath said:

Because you're moving through the area more slowly and you get a better feel for it. I moved to north wales in 2014 and cycled everywhere, used gps to see where I'd been afterwards, and now I know the area better than my wife who grew up here.

If you just drive everywhere at 30+mph and follow your satnav you're not interacting with your environment, so at best you only learn the route. If you ride around you learn the area

Ahhhh now I get it, time to go hunt a bike I guess thank you so much!

[Ghost10bxl]

Thank you everyone, I will try these things