Apparently, Americans like to pull up stakes and move to greener pastures more often than almost anyone else — which would explain the swirl of activity at the umpteen websites that help renters find an apartment. As one of the umpteen, RadPad is a relative newcomer to the group that stands out because of its user-friendliness.
RadPad is sort of the graphic novel of the apartment-hunting site breed: It emphasizes big, pretty pictures over a dull jumble of text. RadPad says their staff tries to ensure all listings have at least three up-to-date images by actually calling the author of each listing as they’re posted to verify.
Augmenting the photo-heavy listings is an easy-to-read interface on both the iOS app and on RadPad’s website.
Radpad’s largest presence is in apartment-hungry Los Angeles, which is, not coincidentally, where it’s based; but it also has large footprints in cities like Boston, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Denver.
Bummer: There’s no iPad version, and the service hasn’t really gained momentum in some other big cities — most conspicuously San Francisco and NYC.
Source: RadPad
When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.
