Radical Behavior

I’ve found two tools that have dramatically helped me prepare for my move to Phoenix, Arizona, Google Map’s new My Maps and Google Earth.

Google Maps
The family is heading down to Phoenix this weekend to do some reconnaissance as well as visit with some family. Since we are flying, we need to rent a car to cruise around and check out day care facilities and apartments before heading out to Anthem. I wanted to see if I rented a car at the airport, which rental company would have a drop off closest to Anthem. Using the new My Maps function in Google Maps, I added a push pin for the airport and then did “Find Businesses” to search for each rental company. I added a push pin to the North most location. Here is my result:

Google Earth
After I had decided that most the rental places have a drop off point close to where I needed, I noticed a new icon with the KML link. Most Google Earth geeks will recognize this as an opportunity to view the map with snazzy fly overs. This added each point I mapped in Google Maps to a layer in Google Earth. This then gave me the idea to use Google Earth to map out the location of the apartments we were looking to visit as well as my wife’s new work and the day care facilities.

By using Google Earth, I was able to see a larger area and use some interesting tools like the ruler to gauge distances. I was still able to search by address or find businesses as well as add my own markers.

Both tools are helping me familiarize myself with the area. I’m a sucker for aerial shots, so for me this is the most interactive and interesting way to do some mundane research.