Having lived in my current neighborhood for several years now, I’ve got a pretty good handle on my local resources. I have my grocery store, I have my nail salon, I have my Duane Reade. However, given that I don’t confine my life to the six-block radius surrounding my apartment (oh, if wishing made it so), I sometimes find myself in neighborhoods and/or cities where I’m not as hip to what local resources are available and how to find them.
I discovered this app quite awhile ago when I had first moved to California, and it was an absolutely invaluable resource for orienting me to my new San Francisco neighborhood. Using your current location, it shows you resources that are located close to you in list, map, or visual form (similar to Yelp’s Monocle feature) — anything from ATMs to restaurants to hospitals. The app is organized into categories so you can narrow your search focus, or you can use the search function if you have a specific location in mind. Google Maps and Foursquare are also integrated into the app, so once you find the place you’re looking for, you can quickly access directions to get from here to there and see any Foursquare tips related to that location.
Pretty neat, huh? It’s definitely helped me several times (mostly when I’m in dire need of either cash or coffee), and it’s a great tool to use when traveling to a new city.
Around Me is available for iPhone for free in the App Store; an ad-free premium version is available for $2.99.