Info 202 Fall 2011

For some of us finding a place to live is a no brainer, you chose to live where you grew up surround by the things you know best. For others we are on a constant search looking for the next best place. The author of the article like myself has always been fascinated about moving to a new place. A whole industry has been built around catering to the moving-obsessed, giving them in depth details of which places are currently offering everything in life that they are currently missing. Magazines feature new places to move, and well known lists published by CBS News and Forbes compare and contrast the top places to live. Amidst all the static contant being produced several data-driven websites have been popping up, that are devoted to place comparison. For example BestPlaces.net allows users not only to compare and contrast various places, but to personalize the comparison by ranking the importance of such variables as crime, climate, and cost of living. 

While these data-driven lists often serve as a fascinating waste of time, or a resources for those looking to make a move. One has to consider the inevitable flaws of filtering places simply based on the numbers. For instance when I go on vacation and fall in love with a location, I didn't have this data available. The author presents some great examples of the growing gap between tabulation, and reality. Ultimately it is not the data that is the problem, it is the lack of content.