Remember when you had to drive around with a paper list of vacant lots?

I used to spend every Saturday morning driving through the east side with a printed spreadsheet of city-owned parcels. Now I just pull up the county database on my phone while I'm having coffee. Anyone else miss the old way or am I just getting old?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_faith9d ago

Shook my head reading this. You actually drove around with a paper list? I've never done that in my life. The county database is right there on my phone, updated in real time. Can't imagine printing out a whole spreadsheet just to look at empty lots. Even when I started investing five years ago, everyone I knew used the online maps. Feels like you were doing things the hard way for no reason. I get that some people hate change, but this is just making more work for yourself.

wendyk569d ago

I actually read an article just last week about how city data systems had to be completely redesigned around 2010 because of how much people were relying on them for stuff like this. I mean, I get what you're saying about the old way feeling more hands-on. I used to drive around with a list of addresses from the county assessor's office myself, but it was a pain when I'd get to a lot and find out it was already sold or had a lien on it that wasn't on my paper. The phone is definitely more practical for me, even if it doesn't feel as fun.