It often happens that new home owners will get themselves all moved in only to find that they have a regular water heater instead of a tankless water heater like they wanted or that they need some extra furniture to fill out the living room. If they're new to the area as well as to the house, the process of finding where to go to buy these things or who to call for services can be arduous, especially if you don't have the internet hooked up yet. If you find yourself in this type of situation when you get to Torrance, California, here are some tips on finding the services you're looking for.

If You Have the Internet:

The truly internet savvy are never more than a search engine query away from the information they need. If you're not a tech maven but you have a computer, remember to be specific when running your searches. "License Plate" will overrun you with returns that aren't useful, but "custom license plate frame Torrance, California" will narrow it down. Once you've found a likely business, transfer their address to an internet mapping and directions site like MapQuest or Google Maps to find out how to get there from your home.

Alternatively, if you don't want to mess around with sifting though links to websites that aren't useful to you, you can go directly to the Torrance, California Chamber of Commerce listings on the city's official webpage. Torrance.ca/torbus provides a listing of businesses and services from language schools to makers of lead products, but keep in mind that only businesses who have registered themselves with the service will be found here. If you're in a hurry, you can always use the search function instead of scanning the whole list.

If You Have a Phone:

Cell phone or land line, it doesn't matter. Dialing 4-1-1 from any telephone will connect you with directory services. For a small fee, they will connect you to the service you require. It helps if you know the name of the business, but if you don't, telling them the type of service you're looking for will yield a list of results to choose from. Be specific, though. If you say "Somewhere with paper and stuff" you're not giving the operator enough information. Say "office supplies" or "online printing service" instead.

If You Don't Have Either:

If neither your internet or your phone is hooked up yet, you'll actually have to leave the house to track down what you need. Start by looking in the yellow pages (there should be a phone book with every public phone). If you don't find anywhere that repairs keels, you can always drop by the Torrance Chamber of Commerce and ask who they've got on their list that may be able to help. Their address is 3400 Torrance Boulevard, Suite 100.