Near the beginning of this year, there was a post about renting or owning in SoCal.  From the NY Times, there is this great tool on calculating in more detail if it is better to rent or buy a home.  Here you can enter a home price, how long you plan to stay, mortgage details (rate, down payment, and length), projected future growth rates, taxes, closing costs, maintenance fees, and then in contrast the costs of renting (monthly rate, broker’s fee, renter’s insurance).  With all that info, the site calculates whether it is better to rent or own, as well as where the dividing line might be in terms of renting versus the costs and benefits of owning.  Yes, there is no map like the other tool, but I think this tool helps you make a more informed decision about buying a home instead of renting.  Check it out!

Just in case you have some extra change to spend on a Christmas present, check out the map auction at Swann Auction Galleries.  There are a few deals!

Here is an interesting article and map showing the largest employers in each state.  Here in California it is the Naval Station in San Diego with 42,951 employees.

This map from the Tax Foundation uses data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and answers the question state by state.  In Mississippi, your $100 could buy $115.74 worth of stuff relative to the national average.  On the other hand in California you would only get $88.57 worth.

A common, frequent complaint about Los Angeles is that it’s so big and so sprawly and it feels like it goes on forever. Is it really? Let’s get a better grasp of LA’s relative size, care of self-storage-focused site Spare Foot, which superimpose LA’s city limits over the borders of other major cities (and even a few landmarks). The pairings also show how LA compares to other metropolises in terms of land area, population, and density per square mile.  Check it out.

After you view the Halloween Candy Map, check out this one showing the craziest urban legends from each state!