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.

The best neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay area

Streeteadvisor has been focusing on the San Francisco Bay area in July. We've already asked what do you love about your San Francisco Bay area neighborhood? With numerous reviews coming in, there are many great stories being told and local information being shared. Here are some more great reviews of neighborhoods in San Francisco Bay area.

At Westlake, Daly City, California (Neighborhood Rank in Daly City #1, Overall Score 84.39), STuschman says:

Westlake is one of the best areas to live in Daly City. It has everything to offer - it is close to many great parks, several golf courses, Lake Merced, and the beach (Thornton State Beach, a public access area), so there are countless opportunities to take advantage of the great weather here and take part in a wide array of outdoor recreational activities. This neighborhood is established and fairly upscale, but not at all pretentious. The school districts for this neighborhood are great, and you are also conveniently located to the 280 Freeway and the BART station for commuters. It is a very quiet, safe, and desirable area to live in Daly City.

At Temescal, Oakland, California (Neighborhood Rank in Oakland #10, Overall Score 66.20), andrewlglass says:

Temescal used didn't use to be the greatest neighborhood. It didn't really have very convenient streets to get places and the shopping wasn't that good. BUT, with the addition of the freeway and people FINALLY coming back to the neighborhood, it's getting better. New shops and places to eat are coming in and its finally getting to be quite a nice place to live. Traffic can be busy at times but that happens everywhere. Temescal has a lot of potential to become a hotspot for new home buyers. If they keep doing exactly what they're doing now, in a few years this WILL be the place to live.

At Downtown San Jose, San Jose, California (Neighborhood Rank in San Jose #7, Overall Score 68.60), Shinebox says:

I took my family to the tech museum of innovation in Downtown San Jose last winter to see a special exhibit of machines built after Da Vinci's designs. The exhibit was absolutely fascinating. The rest of the museum was most excellent, full of hands-on exhibits to keep the kids busy. There is also an imax theater there as well. We were also blown away at how clean the downtown area was. At the time, there was also a large Christmas tree in the center square in front of the museum. There was also a merry go-around at that time as well as a manger scene. It was as festive and Christmassy as a CA town is going to get. There were lots of shops and restaurants in the area as well.

At Bronze Coast, Alameda, California (Neighborhood Rank in Alameda #8, Overall Score 68.15), Headbonk says:

The Bronze Coast neighborhood of Alameda, San Jose Ave is a pretty community close to lots of great amenities. Not as pricey as the Gold Coast down the street, this neighborhood has an affordable mix of gorgeous old victorians and more affordable appartment living. A 10 minute walk to the increasingly happening Park St. commercial district for restaurants, bars, and the new movie theater. Closer are shops at Chestnut and Ensenal including a neighborhood market, dry cleaner, coffee shop and breakfast joint. San Jose Ave also has easy access to Franklin Park which features a playground, tennis courts, picnic tables, baseball diamond, and a community swimming pool. Great place to raise kids or settle down.

Some of these neighborhoods don't have the highest scores, but community members are finding plenty of good things about them and are keen to share their inside knowledge with you.

Why not return the favor and share some of your local knowledge with the StreetAdvisor community? Log in today to write a review of a street, neighborhood or city or post a forum topic.

Vote for StreetAdvisor in the 2009 Webware 100 Awards

StreetAdvisor.com has been selected as one of the finalists in the 2009 Webware 100 Awards in the new location-based services category.

300 finalists were selected by the Webware editors from more than 5,000 qualifying Web 2.0 services nominated by Webware readers and company representatives. 

Voting for the Webware 100 is open now and closes on April 30. We’d like you to vote for us!

Follow this link to vote for StreetAdvisor in the 2009 Webware 100 Awards.

StreetView is live on StreetAdvisor in the UK

StreetAdvisor has added Google's StreetView to its UK site StreetAdvisor.co.uk. You can now see what the streets of London really look like, such as here at Shoreditch High Street, Hackney, Greater London (Street Rank in Hackney #1, Overall Score 90.00).

Visitor ajr67 has this to say about Shoreditch High Street:

Depending on what magazines you read, Shoreditch has been one of the major centres of young London in recent years and there is no doubt that it’s become one of the major bohemian hangouts in London in the past five years.

For more great local reviews and opinions, visit StreetAdvisor.co.uk today and add your local knowledge to the growing StreetAdvisor community.

StreetView goes live on StreetAdvisor New Zealand

In June 2008 StreetAdvisor added Google's Streetview to our US street and city map views, making it easier and much more fun to browse your favorite places. In August 2008 StreetAdvisor was the first Australian site to add StreetView to its services.

Now Google has added StreetView for New Zealand, and once again StreetAdvisor has incorporated StreetView into its maps. Now you can browse the streets of New Zealand, find your home town or a loved holiday or vacation destination and write reviews and post forum topics about them. Seeing the streets on the screen is a great way to remind yourself of all the stories you could share about places you know.

To start with, look at Quay Street, Auckland (StreetScore 54.00) and browse the map to activate StreetView. We think you'll like what you see. Come and join us in StreetView at StreetAdvisor.co.nz today!

StreetAdvisor and Realestate.com.au rollout begins in South Australia

The partnership between StreetAdvisor and and Realestate.com.au to provide street and suburb reviews on Australia’s leading real estate site has begun its rollout in South Australia.

StreetAdvisor’s unique scorecards will be featured throughout realestate.com.au adding a touch of genuine local flavour to property listings.

So how will it look? Here's one example. This listing for Third Avenue Glenelg East features a scorecard that looks like this:

Users can click through to StreetAdvisor to write a review, read further reviews or explore streets with StreetView level mapping. With the initial launch being only for select properties in South Australia, a national rollout is planned for early 2009.

So if you have some local knowledge about real estate, you can now add it to StreetAdvisor knowing that your reviews will help thousands of Australian choose the best place to live.

StreetAdvisor community members tell neighbors to get a life

StreetAdvisor community members are becoming increasingly vocal about the inconsiderate and antisocial behavior of their neighbors. Here are some of the latest stories that reveal exactly what people think of their neighbors.

In his city review of Bonnybridge, United Kingdom (CityScore 48.11), resident NoASBO comments that:

"A small minority of the neighbors in Roman Road, within the Minerva Gardens development of Bonnybridge, are causing distress to the majority by engaging in a campaign of unfounded complaining to the Police and the Falkirk Council. Noise complaints have been made against dog owners by the 'council on speed-dial' brigade and woe betide you if you park a commercial vehicle in the street that they don't approve of - give it a few hours and you'll have nails in your tyres and a nasty letter on your windscreen. The curtain-twitching mafia have also been known to draft up bizarre petitions against other residents for no reason... meanwhile their own kids create noise in the street until all hours. Get a life."

Photo by magroll - Creative Commons license

At Heritage Oak Court, Modesto, California, United States (StreetScore 52.92), visitor Bensdad says:

"To the driver of the silver GMC pick up who tore my drivers side mirror off in August. I know this is a nice street. The houses here are great to look at. I like to look at them too. I try not to veer on to the wrong side of the road to side-swipe oncoming vehicles though. Your truck looked pretty new too. You didn't look like someone without insurance. If you hadn't taken off leaving a wake of destruction, I may have had the opportunity to find out.

Despite my bad experience, I don't let it glaze my view of this otherwise charming street. There are some show stopper homes to see along the way. Just watch for other rubber-neckers, or park your vehicle and take a walk if you're sight seeing."

At Clendenny Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey, United States (StreetScore 35.28), visitor pete101 says:

"Grimy little street where parking can be a nightmare. Mostly apartments with lower-income people living here. The area is considered safe, but the atmosphere can still be a bit sketchy due to its proximity to Greenville. The street lets out to Route1-9 on one side where there is a 24hr Ihop. Leaving your car near that area is not recommended. One of my friends had his car window smashed."

At St Nicholas Terrace, New York, New York, United States StreetScore 17.64), visitor misu says:

"St. Nicholas Terrace is up on the hill and is just behind City College. It is where everyone parks who goes to school there or lives in the surrounding area. It is right up against the park and during the day, it is quite safe to walk down it. It is also nice to walk down a street in NYC where it is COMPLETELY tree-lined. But, at night, the park is totally unsafe. The school often posts warnings to students to not walk through the park from St. Nicholas Terrace to the subway at 135th Street. The street is a little better since City College put in a dormitory, there are security guards that patrol the street, but overall it's not safe."

At Benjamin Close, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia (StreetScore 30.82), resident kes tells us that:

"I rented here for 1 year, and moved out as soon as I could break lease because of terrible neighbours. Lots of drug taking, and grot on the street. Found dirty nappies left on the pavement etc. Also lots of kids playing unsupervised until late at night on the street, foulmouthed and stole hubcaps. "

At Laurus Court, Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia (StreetScore 62.61), resident Charlie05 says:

"We moved to Narre Warren three years ago. Our court is nice and the neighbours too. The only negative we found the rubbish lying around the main roads (Kurrajong Rd, Ryelands Dr). The Nature strip on the middle of the Narre Warren Nth Rd is so neglected (burned out bushes, weeds and rubbish everywhere). I think we are paying enough taxes to the government and rate to the council to fix this problem. Also lots of neglected front gardens, some of them has no landscaping since they where built."

Are your neighbors doing something that really annoys you? Tell everyone about it at StreetAdvisor.com.

Surviving the housing crisis

In many places in the western world, the housing and mortgage crisis is causing suffering and lower standards of living for many people. Foreclosures mean people are losing the homes they planned as long term investments for their futures. In some cases, greed encouraged some people to over-invest and build McMansions that they now cannot pay for.

In the US, some people have found another way to beat the housing crisis. They're not building McMansions - in fact they're building the exact opposite. The tiny house movement is growing, with companies like Tumbleweed creating tiny mobile or permanent houses that provide compact living on compact budgets with an added awareness of their environmental impact.

You can read more at the Tiny House blog and in this story at the New York Times. For the advocates of tiny homes, less is definitely more. The best way to explain the concept is to watch the video below.

Is the housing crisis forcing you to rethink where you live? If you were going to get a tiny house, where would you put it? Find your favorite place on the map at StreetAdvisor.com today.

StreetAdvisor at Microsoft Tech.Ed Australia and New Zealand

Once a year, Microsoft holds a huge conference called Tech.Ed (Australia and New Zealand) for geeks to learn how to be even smarter geeks - and I love it!

This year, I was asked if I wanted to demo StreetAdvisor in their keynote presentation with some new code tweaks. Such an opportunity is rarely offered so I couldn't refuse! I went to Auckland (CityScore 74.81) and Sydney (CityScore 71.91) to speak during the conference opening keynote session.

With the help of Dr. Neil Roodyn, who did all the hard work, we presented StreetAdvisor to the audience with some cool Microsoft building-block technologies:

• Live Authentication (using Live ID)
• Live Presence (using the Status control)
• Live Messenger (using the Live Messenger Chat control)
• Live Virtual Earth (using the Live Map control)

The main objective was to show how you can enhance a website with some of Microsoft's Live Services building-block technologies in little to no time at all. All up, it took us a day or so to implement these into the current StreetAdvisor code base.

I felt very chuffed and humbled seeing StreetAdvisor on the huge projectors and Dr. Neil starting up a Live-Communicator chat session with a StreetAdvisor 'Expert'.

Expect to see some of these features appear in StreetAdvisor in the near future.

Top image courtesy of Microsoft Tech.Ed NZ.