9 online ways to get connected locally

People often talk about how the internet is the gateway to a whole new world, but it’s also a doorway into your local neighbourhood. Here are some of our favourite ways to engage with your interests and passions in your neighbourhood.

Facebook website or app

Find your local neighbourhood group by searching for your hometown on Facebook to see if a community group has been set up. You can request to join these groups and find out what is happening in your neighbourhood, items for sale, local business news and to post questions, recommendations etc yourself.

MeetUp App

Meetup is a platform to not only find a local community that shares your interests but to build a new one too. People use Meetup to meet new people, join events, learn new things, find support, get out of their comfort zones, and pursue their passions, together. There are more than 52 million members globally on the platform, over 300,000 Meetup groups and in excess of 100,000 Meetup events each week. There is something for everyone. You can join via their website or download the app.

Nextdoor app

Nextdoor is an app for neighbourhoods where communities come together to greet newcomers, exchange recommendations, and read the latest local news. It’s a place where you can support local business and get updates from public services as well as get local tips, and buy and sell items, borrow tools or just make a neighbourly connection.

Nextdoor makes it safe to share online the kinds of things you share with your neighbours in person. Every neighbour must verify their address in the neighbourhood. Every neighbour must use their real name.

Your local Council website or app

All local councils have a website (and sometimes an app) and they are a great place to find out what’s going on in your area as well as a resource for all sorts of local activities. Aside from being the spot for practical options to pay your rates and check what days your waste bins are collected, local council websites provide a detailed list of council funded events and activities and information for their residents. There is usually a dedicated area for seniors where you can find out about local activities, community centre services, home support services, news and notices and other useful links.

Your local Library website or app

You may find a link to your local library through your local council website, but you can also find it directly, many council areas have a number of libraries within their boundaries. Libraries are now brilliant resources for all sorts of community and cultural pursuits, as well as somewhere to borrow a book. Some libraries now offer an extensive collection of e-books and audiobooks. If that’s not enough your library will no doubt offer opportunities for e-learning, community history and other events. Here’s an earlier article which sets out some of the free digital library offers you can take advantage of.

OLIO app

OLIO is a super app to help connect with your neighbours in a socially responsible way, you’ll find people giving away food and other items all for free. OLIO connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. This could be food nearing its sell-by date in local stores, spare home-grown vegetables, bread from your baker, or the groceries in your fridge when you go away. OLIO can also be used for non-food household items too. OLIO is now present in 59 countries, in Australia currently it operates in over 600 towns across the country.

Tripgo and Citymapper apps

Relying on public transport to get out and about physically can present all sorts of challenges, Tripgo and Citymapper are two apps designed to make this sometimes daunting task a whole lot easier.

Tripgo shows door-to-door transport options across Greater Sydney as well as how to get to places in the fastest, cheapest and most environmentally friendly way. It will help you find the best travel option from A-to-B using road and public transport real-time data.It shows timetable information for all services from a specific stop, it can use your calendar to automatically provide trip options between scheduled events, estimate the cost of private vehicle trips including petrol, wear and tear, and carbon and check available passenger space on the next bus service. While this app is for NSW only, a quick internet search for your state public transport authority should bring up your city and regional options.

Citymapper is a public transit app and mapping service which displays transport options, usually with live timing, between any two locations in a supported city. It integrates information for all urban modes of transport, including walking, cycling and driving, in addition to public transport. Usefully it has a button to ‘Get Me Home’ which takes all the guess-work out of the quickest way home. In Australia it is currently only usable in Sydney and Melbourne but it is expanding all the time.

National public toilet map app

Feeling confident to get out and about can sometimes be restricted by concerns over what to do ‘when nature calls’. The Health Department has created this useful app that lists 19,000 publicly available toilets across Australia. It will find nearby toilets, search for toilets in a place you will be visiting, personalise your results by setting your preferences to return to toilets that meet your needs. It will also give you directions via a map or see the locations in a list.

We’d love to hear some of your favourite apps that keep you connected to your community. Share in the comments below.