Housing Resources

So, it would appear we've found the new blog obsession here at The Doctor Isn't: housing searches. Fortunately, in my soon(ish) new town, I've got the makings of a legion of folks who can help me with this. At last count, there are five people I went to grad school with, one person I went to high school with, plus various friends of friends. This is very good fortune, as it means I've got a lot of folks I can ask to check a place out once I'm interested.

I like to find guides to the cities as early as I can, and in some places, that's more possible than others. The job before the one I'm currently finishing up, I found a guide written by a local cab driver. The grammar was awful, there were some downright racist comments, but as a guide to the city it was invaluable. Here, I found a couple of self-published books, but I had to look for them. And the new town has proved pretty easy to find information on.

And, even better, because so many of them have been nomads like me, they've started to funnel housing resources to me, and I thought - in the interest of sharing something more useful than my blather for a change - I'd pass some of them on to you:

• SabbaticalHomes.com: a really nice site, particularly as it isn't just useful for places here in the U.S. Thus far, everything I've seen is more expensive than I can afford, but it's a very good resource.
  
• MyApartmentMap.com: ever wonder what useful things people were doing with Google Maps? Here's one that searches popular apartment sites and combines them with Google Map data. Way cool, and I'm not just saying this as someone who's geeked to go see "Watchmen" on opening night. There's also a blog that explains the features.
• Penske.com: okay, as someone who's moved more than a few times, let me offer you this endorsement: Penske trucks are cheaper, in better shape, and actually reserved unlike their competitors. If you have to rent your own, I have never - in four states or three cross-country moves - found a better price (they also take AAA).
• MovingHelp.com: having planned so many moves, the worst thing - particularly as an academic with a book problem (yes, that's right: worse than your regular academic) - is the actual loading and unloading. And while it's nice when you can lean on your friends for this (paid for with beer and pizza, of course), it's better when you can order beer and pizza for your friends who aren't sore and let someone else do the loading and unloading. This site is great for that.

And, of course, there are the old standbys like Craig List, Rent.com, and Apartments.com. If there are others that I come across, I'll certainly share them.