Ran across a great hack for Google Maps earlier this morning while doing a little house hunting. While I've looked for some interesting Google Maps hacks in the past, my recent foray back into the world of real estate and home options has sent me on a search for helpful hacks. This latest one combines the 2000 census data with a specific address and gives you demographics on the surrounding areas.

For example, I grew up in a small suburban type town in northeast Ohio. All the towns run into each other, but it's very "Leave it to Beaver" in nature. My husband grew up on a large farm in southern Ohio where there is absolutely no fear of busting out a neighbor's window with a foul ball. We currently live in a very populated, very cramped area of Columbus, Ohio and have been seeking out a mixture of what we both grew up with. The new tool gave me the following handy data...

16,765 people live within three miles of my parents.

3,652 people live within three miles of my husband's parents.

89,684 people live within three miles of our current home.

1,881 people live within three miles of a house that I started looking into this morning. Of course that's 2000 data and with the way urban sprawl is hitting Columbus, that may mean there are 18,000 people living within three miles of it now.

Anyway, nifty tool if you're in to that type of thing.