What are "digs," anyway?

I've been asked by a few folks what the term "Digs" means in my blog title.  Well, the way I learned it, it was slang for "housing," "home," or "residence."  Sort of like "pad," which was popular in the 1960's, but around longer. Like "Nice ride!" can mean "Nice car you have there."

A little research, and I mean very little, tells me the actual root of the word may be in the term "diggings," referring to a mine which also had room for temporary quarters, particularly in the UK or Australia.  Apparently it also has been used since the 1800's to mean lodging, often related to small and/or temporary quarters. The best reference source I found was in an online publication called World Wide Words.

There's also the thought that many who write about real estate seem to me to be more interested in getting in an unflattering "dig" or two about the industry or its practitioners (or about selling newspapers) than about informing their readers.  It's a topic that fires up journalists and the general public alike, and one on which a broad array of often badly uninformed opinions are passionately argued as facts.

My goal for BeachCityDigs.com is to reliably and intelligently inform and interest my readers on the topic of real estate.  I value accurate, useful, fact-based information more greatly than provocative headlines and attitude-ridden authors.

But mainly, I just like the way "Digs" combines with "Beach City" to form "Beach City Digs."

Can you dig it?  -David