September 15th, 2011

Onboard Powers Bloomberg/BusinessWeek’s Best Places to Raise Your Kids 2011

By Stacey Ret, Director of Marketing

Communities that are small, affordable and family-friendly with good public schools, make the list for Best Places to Raise a Family

If you have children, you want the best house in the best neighborhood that your family can afford, and it’s not always about the number of baths in the home – although 2+ bathrooms can certainly help bring peace to your household during teeth-brushing time! You evaluate the schools, the safety of the town, the recreation available to all of you – heck, some of you may even want to know where the closest Trader Joe’s is (or is that just me?).  Luckily, BusinessWeek has evaluated over 5,400 communities nationwide utilizing Onboard’s comprehensive community data and demographics to bring us a list of the best places to raise a family.

This year, they shifted their focus from  large urbanized cities to smaller towns with populations of 50,000 or less.Considerations included: town’s median income relative to their particular state’s median income, school performance, number of schools, crime statistics, cost of living, as well as job growth, air quality, ethnic diversity and access to recreational amenities – all of the qualities you would want in a community for your family.

The cities are listed in alphabetical order, by state, and in the CT/NJ/NY tri-state area (where we are located), the following cities top the list:

Best place to raise kids in Connecticut: Kensington

Nearby city: Hartford
Population: 8,479
Median family income: $90,189
Runner-up: Portland

Best place to raise kids in New Jersey: Ridgefield Park

Nearby city: New York
Population: 10,675
Median family income: $84,544
Runner-up: Bergenfield

Best place to raise kids in New York: West Seneca

Nearby city: Buffalo
Population: 43,575
Median family income: $69,188
Runner-up: Lancaster

To read the full list, click here: http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20101214/the-best-places-to-raise-your-kids-2011/slides/33

Tags: Best Places, Clients, community information, data, lifestyle search, neighborhood data, real estate data.

August 11th, 2011

America’s 25 Most Fun, Affordable Cities. Did your city make the list?

By Stacey Ret, Director of Marketing

Onboard had the privilege to work with two stellar companies, both of whom are clients, Better Homes & Garden Real Estate and Bloomberg Businessweek, to bring the article, “Ocean City, Md.: America’s Most Affordable Fun City,” to life.  With millions of data points to pull from, Onboard worked closely with BHGRE to analyze over 6,000 zip codes nationwide, where the median home price was within 20% of the state’s median. From there, the amount of bars and restaurants were quantified, and those with the greatest number helped drum up a list of the country’s most affordable and fun cities.

Not everyone can afford to wine and dine in large cities such as New York or Chicago. Here are some other great destinations where you can have a night out on the town, at an affordable price!

Read the article for the full list

Tags: Best Places, Better Homes and Gardens, community information, data, Inside Onboard, lifestyle search, Onboard Informatics, Real Estate.

April 5th, 2011

Onboard’s Technology Learning Series Kicks Off Today

By Colleen Staunton, Product Manager

We spend a lot of time working with content and web engagement tools at Onboard Informatics, and for the next two months, we’d like to share some of our secrets with you. Our new Technology Learning Series program will feature weekly webinars for our friends in the industry to learn how our content and products can best be implemented to save time and increase revenue. We’ll share our research insights and best practices from our clients. All webinars will be held at 3pm EST on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

April 12: Getting the Most Value From Neighborhood Information
April 14: Getting the Most Value From Neighborhood Information

• Access Community Comparison and Cost of Living Reports
• Review all the data available through the application
• Customize to blend in with your current site

April 19: All the Rage – What is a Lifestyle Search Widget & How can it Improve my Business?
April 21: All the Rage – What is a Lifestyle Search Widget & How can it Improve my Business?

• Provide consumers with the search tools they are demanding
• No development needed for quick and easy implementation
• Brokers and Agents can provide more value to their consumers

April 26: How to Improve SEO using Data
April 28: How to Improve SEO using Data

• Increase your page rank with various implementation strategies
• Learn how our data is SEO friendly
• Review strategies by current clients

May 3: School Content – It’s Free. Why do I need Enhanced School Content on my Site?
May 5: School Content – It’s Free. Why do I need Enhanced School Content on my Site?

• Provide more than just basic school profile information
• Enhance your SEO with Ratings & Reviews that are updated frequently
• Review how current clients are utilizing our school content to their benefit

May 10: Printable Reports: The Importance, Value, and Options
May 12: Printable Reports: The Importance, Value, and Options

• Customizable reports for brand recognition
• Brokers and agents can provide home buyers with detailed reports about a community
• Pick and choose which data sets you would like to provide to consumers

May 17: Lifestyle Search: The Pandora for Real Estate
May 19: Lifestyle Search: The Pandora for Real Estate

• Home Buyers search for a neighborhood ‘fit’ first, so let them search this way on your website
• Create a unique and custom search experience
• See how brokers and agents can benefit from Lifestyle Search

May 24: Neighborhood Information – for Canada
May 26: Neighborhood Information – for Canada

• Community reports for every province and postal code in Canada
• Customize the application to match your website branding
• Capture leads through a lead form

March 30th, 2011

Realtor.org Releases Best Places Field Guide

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Manager

Realtor.org just released a field guide of “best places” lists from various outlets. Whether it’s best places to live, find a job, raise a family, or build a career – various publishers take a stab at compiling their picks for best places each year. Onboard Informatics is the unsung hero, if you will, of many of these stories (9 of 41 on the Realtor.org list, to be specific).

I must give a caveat that not all Best Places stories are created equal. Of course, my “best place” is going to look a lot different than a golf-loving, family-focused mom of 3 from the Midwest; the level of subjectivity here has prompted several of our clients to create Best Places search tools (using the same data as our Lifestyle Search Engine) and niche lifestyle stories.

What do you mean my town didn't make the list?

But when it comes to America’s Safest Cities or Top-Earning Towns, having bulletproof data and a methodology to match are the only ingredients that are going to churn out a story worth anyone’s while. Additionally, having good screening criteria is just as vital as the data itself (it will ensure that the places selected truly represent the focus of the story). The consequence of not putting this care into editorial? Well, we’ve certainly seen instances where skewed numbers and liberties taken with the criteria have led to certainly less-than-perfect outcomes.

As always, we thank and congratulate all our publishing clients who turn to us year after year for help in producting the most accurate and engaging Best Places work.

Tags: Best Places, Best Places methodology, Best Places to Live.

January 26th, 2011

BestPlaces.NYDailyNews.com in Action

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Manager

The New York Daily News relaunched their real estate website this week, powered throughout by Onboard Informatics content. This site is an end-to-end implementation of our services that work in concert to help NYDN bring their city and its dwellings to life. We figured we’d give you a little behind-the-scenes tour on how these pieces fit together and what it means for our client.

Building a site that will build a following

NYDN approached Onboard Informatics in the hopes of creating a new and unique website to highlight the Best Places to Live in the metropolitan New York City area. In the process of creating a destination real estate website, NYDN needed to employ techniques to drive search engine rankings, enable highly targeted on-site search, and deliver compelling navigation capabilities.

One of the most crucial pieces of the development of this project was the delivery of rich content to create a user experience enabling consumers to immerse themselves deep in communities and neighborhoods of the city without going further than their browser. The result is Best Places to Live in NY, an intersection of hyperlocal editorial content, accurate neighborhood data and property listings for buyers. Here are some of the key pieces of the site:

One of the reasons our clients come to us is for a complete solution that is non-disruptive with parts that are capable of creating a synchronized user experience. So how exactly are these parts intertwined?

• The Best Places Lifestyle Profiler is NYDN’s implementation of Lifestyle Search Engine
• Results of neighborhood recommendations feed to neighborhood profiles that are based on real boundaries that truly reflect the vibe and culture of the city’s hundreds of neighborhoods
• Neighborhood profiles are supported with Community and School data (also part of the “Explore NYC Neighborhoods” section)
• Best Places guides are interspersed throughout, including custom top neighborhood lists for niche lifestyles based on our Best Places methodology
• Listings Search Engine drives property search with advanced search criteria (filter by distance to parks/transportation/schools, find a house with pets allowed or a roof garden, etc.)

We invite you to check out the site, find your ideal hood, drool over some ridiculous real estate, and see the city come to life in the process.

Tags: Best Places, Best Places in NY, Best Places to Live, New York Daily News, real estate websites.

January 25th, 2011

Here’s how you can be Cold Year-round

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Manager

I have a feeling that if I walked downstairs and did a straw poll of New Yorkers who’ve spent the last few months traipsing through their grid in the bitter wind and permanent slush, no more than a crazy few would answer “yes” to whether or not they’d like to spend their retirement in a cold climate. But as we are sometimes reminded, there is a world that exists outside of New York, some of which would rather spend their golden days by the fire or on the slopes.

U.S. News & World Report just released 10 Winter Wonderlands for Retirement, powered by Onboard Informatics data and the Best Places to Retire tool we recently collaborated on. For this set of retirees, U.S. News looked for places that are likely to be covered in snow for most of the winter. From there, they screened for places with prime access to hospitals and medical care, affordable housing, and a reasonable cost of living.

Here are the top pics for winter retirement bliss:

• Aurora, Colo.
• Burlington, Vt.
• Juneau, Alaska
• Manchester, N.H.
• Marquette, Mich.
• Minneapolis, Minn.
• Portland, Maine
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• South Bend, Ind.
• Syracuse, N.Y.

Tags: Best Places, best places for retirees, U.S. News.

September 8th, 2010

Top Retirement Towns for History Buffs

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Manager

The 3600-acre Valley Forge National Historical Park helped Philadelphia earn a place on the top towns for history lovers.

Lifelong learning is a priority for many retirees. That’s why U.S. News & World Report just released 10 Historic Places to Retire, based on content from Onboard Informatics. For some, war reenactments and visits to the hallowed sites of American history trump beach fronts and golf courses. The centuries-old towns on this top 10 list are filled with museums, libraries, national historic monuments, and plenty of amenities.

Charleston, S.C.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Quincy, Mass.
San Francisco, Calif.
Santa Fe, N.M.
Savannah, Ga.
St. Augustine, Fla.
New Orleans, La.
Washington, D.C.
Williamsburg, Va.

Click here to view the full article and slideshow.

Tags: Best Places, Best Places to Retire, places for history buffs to retire, top towns for history buffs, U.S. News.

July 15th, 2010

CNN/Money’s Best Places to Live 2010

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Manager

The results are in for yet another annual collaboration between Onboard Informatics and CNN/Money to cast light on terrific cities with growing job rates, great schools, safe neighborhoods, and plenty of activities for residents. This year’s Best Places to Live feature looks at top small cities (as opposed to 2009′s list of small towns with strong economies).

With over 100 miles of trails and an unemployment rate of just 5.1%, Eden Prairie in Minnesota fit the bill for this year's top small town.

Our data team worked closely with CNN to provide housing, financial, quality of life and other data for the filters they selected to produce the most concise and accurate information possible.

To start, all U.S. cities with populations of 50,000-300,000 were considered. Places with a median family income of over 200% or less than 85% of the state median were excluded, as were towns with a white population of over 95%. From there, the top 100 towns were decided after screening out retirement communities, towns with significant job loss, poor education systems and high crime scores.

We then worked with CNN/Money on the ranking of the top towns based on housing affordability, school quality, arts and leisure, safety, health care, diversity, and other points in our extensive set of quality of life content sets.

CNN/Money also released lists for top earning towns, most affordable homes, quickest commute times, best weather (hottest and coldest cities), and youngest cities. Users can also search for nearby cities to see which nearby towns made the grade. Dive deeper into the heart of the community right on the article, where Gowalla business reviews and comments from Facebook are integrated.

Congratulations to this year’s list of top cities!

Tags: America's best small cities, Best Places, Best Places to Live 2010, CNNMoney.

July 9th, 2010

Family Circle’s 10 Best Towns for Families

By Michael Groysman, Marketing Intern

Family Circle has just released their new list of the 10 Best Towns for Families, 2010 using Onboard Informatics’ community, school, and points of interest expertise. This year they chose towns with affordable homes, quality schools, access to health care, green space, low crime rate, and financial stability.

In first place is Edmond, Oklahoma which has “abundant parks, miles of walking and jogging trails, and a lake teeming with bass and bluegill” and other scenic charms. Family Circle also looked at “Good Deeds” for each of the top 10 places, revealing a list of close-knit American towns.

Family Circle has been working with Onboard to find great towns for families since 2007.

Here are this year’s top towns:

1. Edmond, Oklahoma
2. Hampton Township, Pennsylvania
3. Edwardsville, Illinois
4. Windsor, Colorado
5. La Verne, California
6. Round Rock, Texas
7. Simpsonville, South Carolina
8. Meridian, Idaho
9. Bristol, Rhode Island
10. Bettendorf, Iowa

Check out the article to see what residents have to say about their hometowns.

Tags: Family Circle.

March 5th, 2010

BusinessWeek Names 2010′s Best Affordable Suburbs

By Jackie Berg, Marketing Manager

BusinessWeek and Onboard Informatics teamed up once again to collaborate on BW’s Best Affordable Suburbs in America 2010 story. BusinessWeek evaluated information provided by our content team to determine the best affordable suburb in each state as well as an overall winner with high marks across the board.

The economy in Fishers, Indiana has remained strong, earning them the top spot in this year's Best Affordable Suburbs in America.

All the suburbs on the list are towns within 25 miles of the most populated city in the state, with populations of 5,000 to 60,000, median family incomes of $51,000 to $120,000, and lower-than-average crime rates. We weighted a variety of factors including livability (short commutes, low pollution, green space), education (well-educated residents, high test scores), crime (low personal and property crime), economy (high job growth, low unemployment rate, high family income), and affordability (median household income, cost of expenditures). Affordability was most heavily weighted in the calculations.

As for exclusions, BusinessWeek decided to penalize places with bad weather, a lack of racial diversity, high divorce rates, and few children.

Our content team worked closely with BusinessWeek to create this data-driven story based on their criteria and the filters they selected to produce the most concise and accurate information possible.

Fishers, Indiana was determined to be a fantastic choice for families with its diverse housing market, safety, great schools, and unemployment rates that were almost 4% below Indiana’s average.

It’s no surprise that the extremely accessible Glasgow was named the most affordable suburb in my home state of Delaware. (Not that there were all that many towns to choose from, considering Delaware’s entire population barely edges out that of Lower Manhattan…)

See which town tops your state’s list here.

Tags: affordable towns, Best Affordable Suburbs in America, Best Places, BusinessWeek, most affordable suburbs.