You are moving to DC! All that time spent watching West Wing, Scandal and House of Cards and now you will be living in the nation’s capital!
I have compiled a list of 10 great apps to help you get around, meet people and feel like a up-and-coming, millennial professional hipster – albeit on a budget.
1 CityMapper.
Absolutely my favorite app for getting anywhere (if I am not driving. If I am then its Waze or Google Maps)
It tells you the way to get somewhere on foot, by bike (including bike share), by car (including Car share and Uber) and by metro.
2 Carenterprise
It’s really great if you want to rent a car for the hour. You just swipe to unlock the car and swipe to return the car.
The drawback is you have to sign up for membership and read all the fine prints.
3 Washington Post
You can’t be in the DMV and not read the Post. Well… you can, but why would you? While you are at it make sure to have a million other news app on your phone: Reuters, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera etc.
4 Uber/Lyft
You can take your pick but make sure to have at least one. The metro and buses aren’t all night or even really late night like in other metropolitan cities globally.
5 Yelp/World Around Me
These are great apps to know what bars, restaurants, cafes and other cool spots are nearby. The app is complete with address, menus, websites, opening hours, deals contact numbers and reviews of the different so you won’t have a heart attack when you get the bill back.
6 MeetUp
This is a great app to find a group that you are interested in. There are tons! If you are a language enthusiast, adventure junkie, food connoisseur, book work looking for a book club or sports fan who breaks down crying when her team loses the Super Bowl.
7 MoneyTracker
With your stipend, you are going to need to budget. MoneyTracker allows you to see where you are spending money, identify wastage and live frugally/or at least out of the red until the end of the month.
8 CamCard
This apps allows you to upload and store business cards so you can network and do your follow-up with ease.
9 Spotify
Hey, you are going to have so many multicultural friends and your musical tastes is gonna expand. Spotify will be great to listen to that new Jamaican jam, Palestinian ballad and Colombian folk song you have just fallen in love with.
10 Spotcycle
If you are gonna rent the Capital Bikeshare, this is a great app to know where the closest bike and next dock is so you aren’t cycling around in circles.