Thread October 15, 2011 editorial: comments

Dear Fellow Audiofanziners!

http://www.tomspine.com/photos/unusual/apartment-thumb.jpgWho hasn't been there before? Say to anyone "I'm looking for a flat" and you will get sighs and long faces indicative of those who have spent countless evenings and weekends searching for a better abode.  They will commisserate with you and then, cringe at the thought that eventually they will have to help with the move out-in transfer, and the inevitable loss of communication as phone and internet gets switched over.  What a nightmare.  Sorta like internet dating.

I've been apartment hunting for maybe 8 months already- on /off as one can go crazy doing this full time (like internet dating).  My frustration lies in lack of online information, forcing me to spend precious evenings viewing dumps or impossible situations.  Where is google street view when you need it? Haven't they mapped out the entire world by now?  And what is so hard about taking photos of the flat for rent and putting it online?

An agency is no better: the wasted phone calls, overpriced merchandise, the haggling, whose side are they on anyway?

So you can imagine my wonder when I found out about a cool new start up called Lovely, which unfortunately is currently available only in the San Fran bay area.  The site works by scraping popular classifieds such as Craiglist and maps all the information for you on a handy map.  So if you want to find a flat on xyz street just zoom in and you can see exactly what is up for grabs with all the juicy details.  Cool no?  This, coupled with google streetview could solve all my problems.

Maybe I should just move to Frisco.

Chater-La