StreetAdvisor Blog

StreetAdvisor joins forces with realestate.com.au to bring you local voices!

We are very excited to announce that StreetAdvisor.com.au and Australia’s biggest real estate website, realestate.com.au, have partnered to launch a new community known as local voices.

Throughout Australia, StreetAdvisor will be rebranded as local voices becoming an integral part of the realestate.com.au website.

Whether you’re looking to buy or rent StreetAdvisor’s patented technology enables you to see how the locals rate the streets and suburbs that you are looking at, helping you find the perfect place to live.

So come in, get the inside word and share your views on your suburb by visiting realestate.com.au local voices - we want to hear your voice.

What does this mean for StreetAdvisor members?

Other than a new name, the main difference is more people to share and connect with! You will now be able to share your street reviews, photos, discussions and lists with over 5 million people that visit realestate.com.au every month. Your account and profile details are unchanged and the site will continue to be free.

Our goal has always been to help people learn more about their communities while helping others make better decisions about where they want to live. This partnership with realestate.com.au and the launch of local voices gives everyone a much greater opportunity to participate.

See you on local voices!

StreetView is now available in StreetAdvisor Canada

Google has just added StreetView to it's maps for Canada, and StreetAdvisor has added into its new improved scorecards. It's available now for Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Halifax, Calgary, Vancouver and nearby suburbs, with more areas to come soon. You can see how it looks in these two example StreetAdvisor scorecards.

Acadia Drive SE E Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (Street Rank in Calgary #3, Overall Score 80 / 100).

The Esplanade N, Pickering, Ontario (Street Rank in Pickering #1, Overall Score 59 / 100).

Browsing the Canadian StreetAdvisor site has become a lot more enjoyable. Come and see what your streets look like at StreetAdvisor.ca today.

StreetAdvisor introduces QuickRate - a new fast way to add reviews

If you're browsing through StreetAdvisor looking at streets in your neighborhood or city, and want to contribute, you have many options. You can write a review, or comment on an existing review. You can also write a guide or or post a topic to the forums. But if you don't have much to say, then it can be difficult to know where to start.

To make it easier to express a simple favorable or unfavorable opion about a street, neighborhood or city, StreetAdvisor has built a new kind of review - QuickRate. A QuickRate review allows StreetAdvisor community members to give a place a 1 to 5 star rating. It's a quick and simple way to add your opinion to StreetAdvisor.

To see it in action, we'll visit the Forest Glen neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois (Neighborhood Rank in Chicago #3, Overall Score 84 / 100). The scorecard shows the star rating of the neighborhood in the top left corner.

If you use the mouse to hover over the star rating, a pop-up appears that allows you to complete a QuickRate review or a traditional complete review. To complete a QuickRate review, click on the empty stars to set your rating.

Release the mouse over your preferred score and the QuickRate review is complete! It could not be more simple.

 

If you want to you can fill out some more information to write a complete review. It's up to you. QuickRate allows StreetAdvisor users to share more opinions about their favorite places. Try it for yourself today on StreetAdvisor.com.

StreetAdvisor delivers new site features including new scorecards

In the coming weeks StreetAdvisor will be explaining the details of many new site features and updates including new scorecards, improved StreetView, enhanced photo functions in user profiles and a new 'QuickRate' review function.

The first feature we want to talk about is the new enhanced scorecard for cities and streets. Here is an example of a scorecard for a city. The city in this example is Richmond, Victoria, Australia (City Rank in Victoria #95, Overall Score 72 / 100). You can see that the 'Great for' and 'Not so great for' sections are highlighted in the center of the scorecard.

Below are two screenshots of the new scorecard for streets, in this case Clay Street, New Farm, Queensland, Australia (Street Rank in New Farm #1, Overall Score 100 / 100). In the first one you can see that StreetView is now the default view (if available) in street scorecards.

The second screenshot shows how, if you hover over the 'All ratings' link, a pop-up window shows all the data from the extended rating factors that can be used when writing a review.

With these revised and improved scorecards StreetAdvisor has made it easier for users to quickly see all the important information about a street or city.

To find out what else is new at StreetAdvisor log in to StreetAdvisor today!

The attraction of living near the beach

Even if they are not regular swimmers or surfers, many people find the fresh sea air and the sense of freedom of living near the ocean to be extremely attractive. Beachside property is at a premium around Australia. Here is what some recent coastal residents have to say about where they live on StreetAdvisor.

At Avalon, New South Wales (Overall Score 72.00), TimelyCopy says:

Avalon is a beautiful beachside suburb, bounded on the north by Palm Beach and the south by Bilgola. East is the Pacific Ocean and west is Pittwater, the home of the famous Pittwater yacht Club. When travelling near the Pittwater it is impossible to miss the many up-market yachts. Their colour adds a certain lustre to an already beautiful scene.

Avalon Golf Course is bordered by Old Barrenjoey Road to the west and Barrenjoey Road to the east. Eating and entertainment for residents and visitors is provided by cinemas, shops, an RSL club, 14 restaurants and cafes, as well as bowling and sailing clubs. The Surf Lifesaving club, Soccer Club, Junior Rugby League Club, and Avalon Netball Club provide an outlet for those who are interested in sport.

For me, I prefer lounging on the beach and working on my tan.

Nearby at Palm Beach, New South Wales (Overall Score 64.83), TimelyCopy says:

When I first went to Palm Beach in the northern beaches of Sydney, it was a quiet and sleepy retirement area. There were a couple of restaurants worth remembering of which Jonahs was the best. I haven't been there for some time but it was always worth the trip from Hunter's Hill on a Wednesday evening with the girlfriend who is now my wife.

Now the place seems to be more the home of more mature professionals. Mainly homes amongst the trees with a few units and businesses scattered along the main routes like Barrenjoey Road. There are no large shopping areas yet which is a real bonus.

The main attractions to me are the beaches which are clean. Palm Beach and Whale Beach seem to be kid safe and have plenty of parking. This is great for the weekend visitors even though I would think that the residents may not totally agree.

My memories of Palm Beach go back for more than 30 years and I have watched the area change and mature. It is still a favourite place. It is as laidback as any busy suburban professional area can be but still retains the atmosphere of a beach suburb.

At Dee Why, New South Wales (City Rank in New South Wales #65, Overall Score 58.71), sulley says of Arthur Street, Dee Why, New South Wales (Street Rank in Dee Why #2, Overall Score 87.24) that:

Lived here for 3 years, top end of the street has amazing views to Long Reef and Dee Why Point, out of the way yet within 2min walk of all amenities, and a 10min walk to the Beach. When the new town centre opens, it'll lift the entire area and the streets close by. Big plots are a rarity on the Northern Beaches, but Arthur Street has a lot of them. Very pretty green street, with lots of trees and a great school. Generally very quiet and friendly. Definitely one of the best in Dee Why.

At Elwood, Victoria (City Rank in Victoria #133, Overall Score 70.56), Twin says:

Elwood is unique as you are walking distance if you want the busy life of St Kilda or you can step back and enjoy the more quieter life of Elwood. It's walking distance to the beach and has great parks and tree lined streets. Ormond Rd, the main shopping strip, is always improving with the quality of shops and cafes. It's a terrific place to live.

Is where you live terrific? Or terrible? Share your local knowledge today on StreetAdvisor.com.au.