11 Simple Steps for Finding the Authentic Quality-of-Life You Deserve

Maybe, for this time of year you want to visit the desert instead of the mountains.  Or take a vacation along the coast. Or islands – like Catalina off the coast of Southern California or one of the Hawaiian Islands.

 

Photo: Visual Hunt
You may just decide to live there for six months and somewhere else for the other.  In the mountains for skiing and snowboarding and then at the beach for surfing and sun bathing.

 

It may begin with a vacation to a friend’s favorite destination.

Like the mountains of California or Colorado.

Maybe it’s someplace where you’ve never been before.

Where do you find neighborhoods with similar families?

For your first time you’ll want to figure out your route and itinerary. 

Usually you have a region in mind, with some ideas where you might want to visit.  

Western United States – Texas A&M Transportation Institute

You may start with a map of a region within the West or of Hawaii.

You can start saving bookmarks about potential places, to revisit later.

Or you recall a trip you took out west a few years ago. 

From California to Nevada and Arizona. 

Up to Colorado and back through Utah and Nevada to your return to California.

A name rings a bell when you read an article in a file saved years ago that you stumble across while cleaning up your office.

It  lists the top places for retiring published by AARP – Loveland, Colorado. 

You spend a little time on the Internet and discover, it’s been singled out as a great place to retire on the water. 

In 2009 it was singled out as a best place to live.

Colorado Regions

You recall the fun you had hiking through the nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. 

What were the names of some of those other places you saw on the way? 

You wonder if Loveland is right for you?

After all, US News & World Report ranked it 7th on their top 10 places to live in 2009; right ahead of San Luis Obispo, California and behind front runner Albuquerque, New Mexico, # 3 Austin, Texas and #4 Boise, Idaho.

Now you’ve got your work cut out for you.  Follow these 11 steps to turn your dreams into your dream home.  Let’s use Loveland as an example:

1.  I recommend beginning with Wikipedia and WikiTravel for a quick summary, local history some pictures and the zip code or zip codes.  You’ll see a map of the state, a subset of that map for it’s county.  WikiTravel profiles vacation attractions – directions and transportation, where to stay overnight, where you should eat and play.  It gives you ideas for visiting local attractions and doing more when you consider a broader vicinity.  So you can plan for a long weekend or a one or more week vacation.  

2.  If you aren’t interested in Loveland you can stop there and consider San Luis Obispo next.  Maybe, for this time of year you want to visit the desert instead of the mountains.  Or take a vacation along the coast. Or islands – like Catalina off the coast of Southern California or one of the Hawaiian Islands. But, if you like lakes and rivers, then Loveland may be worth further investigation. 

3.  For our purposes, we are assuming that you really want to move, invest in, work in, start a business or retire in a new community that doubles as a vacation resort and with pristine quality of lifestyle activities.  Otherwise, why bother?  

4.  So, grab the zip code and go to Google and search on the 5 digits.  You’ll find a map which will show you where this destination is in relation to its surrounding area.  You see photo slide shows and videos of the area.  You can switch to satellite views and hybrid map views.

5.  Still believe this town may be a keeper?  Jump to Claritas to check out the types of people who already live in the neighborhoods.  “Birds of a Feather Flock Together.”  Neighborhoods change slowly.  They attract the same kinds of people over time.  If you plan to move, invest, work, start a business or retire, you’ll want to see if residents match your criteria.

6.  We’ve already done the heavy lifting for you by identifying neighborhood characteristics by the age and stage of life of their residents.  Single (20-29, 25-54, Mid-Lifers (30-44).  Couple (55+ or 65+). Family (20-44, 25-54, 35-54). Empty Nests (45+ and 55+).  Baby Boomers ( 55+). Seniors ( 65+).  

7.  And, we’ve compared neighborhoods by wealth and status and by density.  From Wealthy Influentials and Wireless Resorters to High Country Eagles and Permanent Temporaries.  And from Metropolitan to Suburban to Small Cities and Country Towns.  So, if you want to narrow your focus to neighborhoods with 25-54 year old families in Wireless Resorts, then you can find a list that no other top 10 magazine list can provide (New Braunfels, TX and Park City, UT).

8.  Let’s say you’ve compared and narrowed your search for real estate investments.  Check out City-Data for in-depth demographics and regional, county and zip code statistics – including the number of registered sex offenders.

9.  If you plan to move, you should search by zip code on Weather Underground to find a wealth of weather patterns including tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters for each season, but especially for January and June to determine just how inviting your new vacation resort will be.  You may just decide to live there for six months and somewhere else for the other.  In the mountains for skiing and snowboarding and then at the beach for surfing and sun bathing.

10. Need a job?  Check the openings by zip code from two Internet sites – Indeed and Simply Hired.  You’ll want to take a couple of job hunting or house hunting trips before your final decision.  Make a vacation of it by returning to WikiTravel to line up the best accommodations, or visit My New Place for a listing, map and photos of rentals by zip code.

11.  We know that the best positions are hidden.  You find them by a chain of referrals and introductions.  How do you create a new network?  Use your zip code and key word description of the town in LinkedIn’s advanced search function and begin contacting the first few of 100 local introductions.

66 Neighborhood Lifestyles Ranked by Wealth and Status

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

Photo: Visual Hunt
For our purposes, we are assuming that you really want to move, invest in, work in and around, start a business or retire in a new community that doubles as a vacation resort with pristine quality of lifestyle activities. Otherwise, why bother?

 

Here’s what we know already.

Neighborhoods change slowly.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together.

  • They attract the same kinds of people over time.
  • You’ll want to see if current residents match your criteria.

We’ve already done the heavy lifting for you: identifying neighborhood characteristics by age and the stage of life of their residents. 

  • Single (20-29, 25-54, or 30-44).
  • Couple (55+ or 65+).
  • Family (20-44, 25-54, 35-54).
  • Mid-Lifers (30-44).
  • Empty Nests (45+).
  • Baby Boomers (55+).
  • Seniors (65+).

And, we’ve compared neighborhoods by population density. 

From urban and suburban Wealthy Influentials and Permanent Temporaries to premier quality-of-life Wireless Resorters to pristine small town and rustic High Country Eagles.

So, if you want to narrow your focus to neighborhoods with, say,  25-54 year old families in Wireless Resorts, then you can find a list that suits you best.

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

Status and Affluence Rankings

Refer to 66 lifestyle segment descriptions grouped in sets of ten, beginning with the most affluent and ending with the least. You’ll see that we’ve identified a sample town where you’ll most likely find each lifestyle listed.

Photo: Visual Hunt

01M1S1, Upper Crust, 45+, Couples, Affluent Empty-Nests, Elite Suburbs, – WIAE Affluently Elite, Wealthy Influentials (Half Moon Bay, CA)

02F1S1, Blue Blood Estates, 45+ Families, Elite Suburbs, WIAE Affluently Elite, Wealthy Influentials (West Linn, OR)

03Y1S1, Movers & Shakers,  30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Elite Suburbs, WIAE Affluently Elite, Wealthy Influentials (Scottsdale, AZ)

04Y2U1, Young Digerati, 25 – 54, Mainstream Singles, Urban Uptown, WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (Chandler, AZ)

05F1T1, Country Squires, 45+, Family, Accumulated Wealth, Landed Gentry, WRPR Premier Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Lake Arrowhead, CA)

06F1S1, Winner’s Circle, 45+, Families, Accumulated Wealth, Elite Suburbs, WIAE Affluently Elite , Wealthy Influentials (Alta, UT)

07M1U1, Money & Brains, 45+, Couples, Affluent Empty Nests, Urban Uptown, WIAE Affluently Elite, Wealthy Influentials (Seal Beach, CA)

08Y1S2, ExecutiveSuites, 30-44,  Couples, Midlife Success, Affluentials, WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials (Mission Viejo, CA)

09M1T1, Big Fish Small Pond, 45+, Couples, Affluent Empty Nests, Accumulated Wealth, Landed Gentry WRPR Premier Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Mammoth Lakes, CA)

10M1C1, Second City Elite, 45+, Couples, Affluent Empty Nests, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials  (Ft. Myers, FL)

Photo: Stephen G. Howard

11Y1T1, God’s Country, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Landed Gentry, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Boulder, CO)

12Y1C1, Brite Lites Lil City, 30-44, Couples, Midlife, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials   (Santa Fe, NM)

13F2C1, Upward Bound, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials  (Louisville, CO)

14M2S2, NewEmptyNests, 55+, Couples, Conservative Classics, Affluentials, WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials (Indian Wells, CA)

15M2S2, Patios & Pools, 55+, Couples, Empty Nests, Conservative Classics, Affluentials, WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials (Mukilteo, WA)

16Y2U1, Bohemian Mix, 25 – 54, Mainstream Singles, Urban Uptown, WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (Huntington Beach, CA)

17F2S2, Beltway Boomers, 35-54, Families, Young Accumulators, Suburbs, Affluentials,  WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials  (Santa Cruz, CA)

18F2S2, Kids & Cul-de-Sacs, 35-54, Families, Young Accumulators, Suburbs, Affluentials,  WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials  (Mukilteo, WA)

19Y1S2, Home Sweet Home, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Suburbs, Affluentials, WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials  (Irvine, CA)

20F2T1, Fast-Track Families, 35-54, Families, Young Accumulators, Landed Gentry, WRPR Premier Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Cornish, NH)

Summer Outdoors

21M2S3, Gray Power, 55+, Couples, Conservative Classics,  Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Laguna Hills, CA)

22Y2S3, Young Influentials, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Tempe, AZ)

23Y2T2, Greenbelt Sports, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Aspen, CO)

24Y2C2, Up-and-Comers, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (Napa, CA)

25Y1T1, Country Casuals, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Landed Gentry, WRPR Premier Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Westwood, CA)

26M2U1, The Cosmopolitans, 55+, Couples,  Conservative Classics, Urban Uptown, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials  (Huntington Beach, CA)

27M2C2, Middleburg Managers, 55+, Couples,  Conservative Classics, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles   (South Lake Tahoe, CA)

28M2T2, Traditional Times, Empty Nests, 55+, Couples, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (St. Helena, CA)

29F2U1, American Dreams, 35-54, Families, Young Accumulators, Urban Uptown, WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (Naples, CA)

30Y1S3, Suburban Sprawl, 30-44, Singles, Midlife, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (none in knowledge bank)

Photo: Visual Hunt

31Y2U2, Urban Achievers, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, Midtown Mix – WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (Tempe, AZ)

32F3T2, New Homesteaders, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (New Braunfels, TX)

33F3T2, Big Sky Families, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Park City, UT)

34F3C2, White Picket Fences, 25-54, Mainstream Families, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles  (Aurora, CO)

35Y2C2, Boomtown Singles, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles  (San Marcos, TX)

36F3S3, Blue-Chip Blues, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries  (Santa Cruz, CA)

37Y1T2, Mayberry-ville, 25-54, Families, Couples, Midlife Success, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Truckee, CA)

38M3T3, Simple Pleasures, 55+, Couples,  Cautious Couples, Middle America, WRRS Resort Suburbans, Wireless Resorters (Idyllwild, CA)

39M3S3, Domestic Duos , 55+, Couples, Cautious Couples, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Lakewood, CO)

40M3U2, Close-In Couples, 55+, Couples,  Cautious Couples, Midtown Mix – WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (La Mirada, CA)

Photo: Visual Hunt

41M3C2, Sunset City Blues, 55+, Couples, Cautious Couples, Empty Nests – City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles  (Santa Fe, NM)

42Y3T3, Red, White & Blues, 20-29, Striving Singles, Middle America, WRRS Resort Suburbans, Wireless Resorters (Healdsburg, CA)

43M3T3, Heartlanders, 55+, Couples,  Cautious Couples, Middle America – WRRS Resort Suburbans, Wireless Resorters  (Prescott. AZ)

44Y3S4, New Beginnings, 20-29, Striving Singles,Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries (Santa Cruz, CA)

45Y3T3, Blue Highways, 20-29, Striving Singles, Middle America HCERC Rural Cowboy, High Country Eagles (Dillon, CO)

46M3S4, Old Glories, 55+, Couples,  Cautious Couples, Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries  (none in knowledge bank)

47Y3C3, City Startups, 20-29, Striving Singles, Striving Singles, Micro-City Blues – HCESTB Small Town Borders, High Country Eagles (Eureka, CA)

48Y3T4, Young and Rustic, 20-29, Striving Singles, Rustic Living, WRDE Distant Exurbans, Wireless Resorters (ParkCity, UT)

49M3S4, American Classics, 55+, Couples, Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries  (Surprise, AZ)

50F3T3, Kid Country, USA, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Middle America – HCERC Rural Cowboy, High Country Eagles  (Coeur d’Alene, ID)

Photo: Visual Hunt

51F3T3, Shotguns & Pickups, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Middle America, HCERC Rural Cowboy, High Country Eagles  (Surprise, AZ)

52F3S4, Suburban Pioneers, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries  (Boulder, CO)

53Y3C3,  Mobility Blues, 20-29, Striving Singles, Micro-City Blues – HCESTB Small Town Borders, High Country Eagles (Coeur d’Alene, ID)

54F3U2, Multi-Culti Mosaic, 25-54,  Mainstream Families, Midtown Mix, WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (Lakewood, CO)

55M4T4, Golden Ponds, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Couples, Rustic Living, WRDE Distant Exurbans, Wireless Resorters  (Elgin, AZ)

56Y3T4, Crossroads Villagers, 20-29, Striving Singles,Rustic Living, WRDE Distant Exurbans, Wireless Resorters  (Telluride, CO)

57M4T4, Old Milltown, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles (Taos, NM)

58M4T4, Back Country Folks, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles  (Whitefish, MT)

59M4U3, Urban Elders, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Urban Cores, Urban, PTUT Urban Trapped, Permanent Temporaries (Long Beach, CA)

60M4C3, Park Bench Seniors, 65+Sustaining Seniors,  Micro-City Blues – HCESTB Small Town Borders, High Country Eagles  (Palm Desert, CA)

Photo: Visual Hunt

61M4U3, City Roots, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Urban Cores, Urban, PTUT Urban Trapped, Permanent Temporaries (Seal Beach, CA)

62M4C3, Hometown Retired , 65+Sustaining Seniors, Second Tier Cities, Micro-City Blues, PTTC The Cutters, Permanent Temporaries (Eureka, CA)

63F4C3, Family Thrifts, 20-44, Sustaining Families, Second Tier Cities, Micro-City Blues, PTTC The Cutters, Permanent Temporaries  (Ukiah, CA)

64F4T4, Bedrock America, 20-44, Sustaining Families, Town and Country, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles  (Palm Springs, CA) 

65F4U3, Big City Blues, 20-44, Sustaining Families, Urban Cores, Urban, PTUT Urban Trapped, Permanent Temporaries (Long Beach, CA)

66F4U3, Low-Rise Living, 20-44, Sustaining Families,Urban Cores, Urban, PTTC The Cutters, Permanent Temporaries  (Highland Park, CA)

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Steps:

8) Sit down with your spouse, partner or friends and write-up your bucket list of places.

20) Pivot. Maybe the lists of best places don’t appeal to you. Where can you go to make a fresh, new start? Don’t limit your imagination. Think anywhere — across the globe. Where do you really, really want to live, work and play?  Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?

21)  Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

Which Rustic, High Country Eagle Lifestyles Appeal to You?

We identified three Rustic Eagle residential neighborhoods in California, Montana and New Mexico.

 

Google Maps: Whitefish, MT
Typically, life in this segment is a throwback to an earlier era when farming dominated the American landscape.

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

Lifestyles Segments: Urban to Rustic Density

Country Communities

Photo: Visual Hunt

Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM  estimated that country communities represented 39.6% of United States population in 2011.

Town and Rural areas (T) have population density scores under 40.

This category includes exurbs, towns, farming communities, and a wide range of other rural areas.”

Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?

Let’s turn to three High Country Eagle household lifestyles:

High Country Eagle, Rustic Eagles (HCERE) – 20-44 year old Sustaining Families and two 65+ Sustaining Seniors.

We use Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle segmentation profiles to evaluate best places for relocation to more authentic, quality-of-life communities.

And, if your community already includes the following profiles, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on in your neighbors’ lives.

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 13,401,489
  • Median Household Income : $31,343

“Three of the six segments in Rustic America represent the nation’s most isolated towns and rural villages. 

As a group, T4 residents have relatively modest incomes, low educational levels, aging homes and blue-collar occupations. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Many of the residents, a mix of young singles and seniors, are unmarried, and they’ve watched scores of their neighbors migrate to the city.

In their remote communities, these consumers spend their leisure time in such traditional small-town activities as fishing and hunting, attending social activities at the local church and veterans club, enjoying country music and car racing.”

Where in the West will you find those three lifestyles?

Google Maps: Whitefish, MT

We identified three Rustic Eagle residential neighborhoods in California, Montana and New Mexico.

 

Which of the following lifestyles best describes you?

64F4T4, Bedrock America, 20-44, Families, Sustaining Families, Town and Country, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles (Palm Springs, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,220,781 (1.90%)
  • Median Household  Income: $27,602

In 2011 Claritas described these Rustic Eagle (HCERE) household lifestyles:

Bedrock America consists of young, economically challenged families in small, isolated  towns, located throughout the nation’s heartland. 

With modest educations, sprawling families and blue-collar jobs, many of these residents struggle to make ends meet. 

One quarter live in mobile homes. One in three haven’t finished high school.

Rich in scenery, Bedrock America is a haven for fishing, hunting, hiking and camping.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from Avon
  • Bought toy cars
  • Read Parents Magazine
  • Watched The Young and the Restless
  • Drove a Dodge Ram Flex Fuel”

57M4T4, Old Milltown, 65+, Sustaining Seniors, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles ( Taos, NM)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,845,943 (1.58%)
  • Median Household Income: $30,608

Rustic Eagles (HCERE):  “America’s once-thriving mining and manufacturing towns have aged-as have the residents in Old Milltowns communities

Today, the majority of residents are retired singles and couples, living on downscale incomes in pre-1960 homes and apartments.

Photo: Visual Hunt

For leisure, they enjoy gardening, sewing, socializing at veterans clubs or eating out at casual restaurants.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from Home Shopping Network
  • Did needlepoint
  • Read Good Housekeeping
  • Watched As the World Turns
  • Drove a GMC Canyon”

58M4T4, Back Country Folks, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles (Whitefish, MT)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,658,532 (2.27%)
  • Median Household Income: $32,207

Rustic Eagles (HCERE):  “Strewn among remote farm communities across the nation, Back Country Folks are a long way away from economic paradise.

The residents tend to be poor, over 55 years old and living in older, modest-sized homes and manufactured housing. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Typically, life in this segment is a throwback to an earlier era when farming dominated the American landscape.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from Publishers Clearing House
  • Belonged to church board
  • Read Hunting
  • Watched Soapnet
  • Drove a Ford Ranger”

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Steps:

8) Sit down with your spouse, partner or friends and write-up your bucket list of places.

20) Pivot. Maybe the lists of best places don’t appeal to you. Where can you go to make a fresh, new start? Don’t limit your imagination. Think anywhere — across the globe. Where do you really, really want to live, work and play?  Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?

21)  Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

Which Satellite City, High Country Eagle Lifestyles Appeal to You?

Young, single and working-class, these residents pursue active lifestyles amid sprawling apartment complexes, bars, convenience stores and laundromats.

 

Photo: Visual Hunt
Found in second-tier cities, these mobile, twentysomethings include a disproportionate number of recent college graduates who are into athletic activities, the latest technology and nightlife entertainment.

 

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

Lifestyles Segments: Urban to Rustic Density

Country Communities

Photo: Visual Hunt

Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM  estimated that country communities represented 39.6% of United States population in 2011.

Town and Rural areas (T) have population density scores under 40.

This category includes exurbs, towns, farming communities, and a wide range of other rural areas.”

Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?

Let’s turn to five High Country Eagle household lifestyles at different stages of their life.

High Country Eagles, Satellite City-zens (HCESC) – Two 25-54, Mainstream Singles25-54 Mainstream Families55+, Conservative Classics Couples, 55+ Empty Nests Couples.

We use Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle segmentation profiles to evaluate best places for relocation to more authentic, quality-of-life communities.

And, if your community already includes the following profiles, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on in your neighbors’ lives.

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 9,023,807
  • Median Household Income : $46,335

The five segments in the C2 social group consist of a mix of Americans—old and young, homeowners and renters, families and singles—who’ve settled in the nation’s satellite cities. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

What they share is a middle-class status, some college educations and a lifestyle heavy on leisure and recreation.

The members of City Centers tend to be big fans of home-centered activities: computer surfing, video renting, TV viewing and playing games and musical instruments. 

Outside their homes, they go to movies, museums and bowling alleys at high rates.

Google Maps: South Lake Tahoe, CA

Where in the West will you find those five lifestyles?

  • Napa, CA
  • South Lake Tahoe, CA
  • San Marcos, TX
  • Aurora, CO
  • Santa Fe, NM

 

Which of the following lifestyles best describes you?

24Y2C2, Up-and-Comers, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (Napa, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,510,327 (1.29%)
  • Median Household Income: $50,556

Satellite City-zens (HCESC):  “Up-and-Comers is a stopover for young, midscale singles before they marry, have families and establish more deskbound lifestyles

Found in second-tier cities, these mobile, twentysomethings include a disproportionate number of recent college graduates who are into athletic activities, the latest technology and nightlife entertainment.

Best of Whitefish, Montana

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Ethan Allen Galleries
  • Done Karate
  • Read Maxim
  • Watched MTV
  • Drove a Nissan Xterra”

35Y2C2, Boomtown Singles, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (San Marcos, TX)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,617,454 (1.38%)
  • Median Household Income: $39,838

Satellite City-zens (HCESC):  Affordable housing, abundant entry-level jobs and a thriving singles scene-all have given rise to the Boomtown Singles segment in fast-growing satellite cities.

Slowly Evolving Neighborhoods

Young, single and working-class, these residents pursue active lifestyles amid sprawling apartment complexes, bars, convenience stores and laundromats.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Victoria’s Secret
  • Done Karate
  • Read Elle
  • Watched VH1
  • Drove a Suzuki SX4″

34F3C2, White Picket Fences, 25-54, Families, Mainstream Families, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (Aurora, CO)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,536,574 (1.31%)
  • Median Household Income: $51,800

Satellite City-zens (HCESC):  Midpoint on the socioeconomic ladder, residents in White Picket Fences look a lot like the stereotypical American household of a generation ago: young, middle-class, married with children. 

But the current version is characterized by modest homes and ethnic diversity-including a disproportionate number of Hispanics and African-Americans.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from BMG Music
  • Rented/bought kid’s videos
  • Read People en Espanol
  • Watched Latin Grammy Awards
  • Drove a Saturn ION”

27M2C2, Middleburg Managers, 55+, Couples, Conservative Classics, City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (South Lake Tahoe, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,276,009 (1.95%)
  • Median Household Income: $51,769

Satellite City-zens (HCESC): “Middleburg Managers arose when empty nesters settled in satellite communities which offered a lower cost of living and more relaxed pace.

Photo: Visual Pursuit

Today, segment residents tend to be middle-class and over 55 years old, with solid managerial jobs and comfortable retirements. 

 In their older homes, they enjoy reading, playing musical instruments, indoor gardening and refinishing furniture.” 

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Office Depot
  • Bought books on tape
  • Read VFW Magazine
  • Watched Inspiration Network
  • Drove Mercury Grand Marquis Flex Fuel”

41M3C2, Sunset City Blues, 55+ Cautious Couples, Empty Nests – City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (Santa Fe, NM)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,083,443 (1.78%)
  • Median Household Income: $39,366

Satellite City-zens (HCESC): Scattered throughout the older neighborhoods of small cities, Sunset City Blues is a segment of lower-middle-class singles and couples who have retired or are getting closed to it.

These empty-nesters tend to own their homes but have modest educations and incomes.

Photo: Visual Hunt

They maintain a low-key lifestyle filled with newspapers and television by day, and family style restaurants at night.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from QVC
  • Collected coins
  • Read Ladies’ Home Journal
  • Watched One Life to Live
  • Drove a Kia Borrego”

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Steps:

8) Sit down with your spouse, partner or friends and write-up your bucket list of places.

20) Pivot. Maybe the lists of best places don’t appeal to you. Where can you go to make a fresh, new start? Don’t limit your imagination. Think anywhere — across the globe. Where do you really, really want to live, work and play?  Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?

21)  Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

Which Urban or Second-Tier City Wealthy Influential Lifestyles Appeal To You?

The three segments in this group are dominated with married couples with children, college degrees, large homes, and executive jobs.

 

Photo: Visual Pursuit
Like roughly 18.7% of United States population living in urban centers, one of the Digitally Mobiles lifestyles lives in uptown  and three others in Midtown metropolitan areas.

 

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

Lifestyles Segments: Urban to Rustic Density

Like roughly 18.7% of United States population living in urban centers, one of the Digitally Mobiles lifestyles lives in an uptown and three others in second-tier metropolitan areas.

Urban Centers

Photo: Visual Hunt

Urban centers according to Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM   have population density scores between 85 and 99.

“They include both the downtowns of major cities and surrounding neighborhoods.

These areas often extend beyond the city limits and into surrounding jurisdictions.”

Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?

We use Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle segmentation profiles to evaluate best places for relocation to more authentic, quality-of-life communities.

And, if your community already includes the following profiles, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on in your neighbors’ lives.

Wealthy Influential, Digitally Mobiles (WIDM) – 55+ year old Classics Couple.

The Urban Uptown segments are home to the nation’s wealthiest urban consumers.

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 9,480,843
  • Median Household Income : $65,583

“Members of this social group tend to be affluent to middle class, college educated and ethnically diverse, with above average concentrations of Asian and Hispanic Americans.

Photo: Visual Hunt

Although this group is diverse in terms of housing styles and family sizes, residents share an upscale urban perspective that’s reflected in their marketplace choices.

Urban Uptown consumers tend to frequent the arts, shop at exclusive retailers, drive luxury imports, travel abroad and spend heavily on computer and wireless technology.”

Where in the West will you find this lifestyle?

Google Maps: Huntington Beach, CA

Let’s look at the residents in an urban center first in Southern California’s Huntington Beach. One of Orange County’s famous beach and resort towns, you’ll find it on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) just south of Seal and Sunset beaches.

 

Does this lifestyle best describe you?

26M2U1, The Cosmopolitans, 55+, Couples, Conservative Classics, Urban Uptown, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials (Huntington Beach, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,321,917 (1.13%)
  • Median Household Income: $56,581

Digitally Mobiles (WIDM): “Educated, midscale and multi-ethnic, The Cosmopolitans are urbane couples in America’s fast-growing cities. 

Photo: Visual Pursuit

Concentrated in a handful of metros-such as Las Vegas, Miami and Albuquerque-these households feature older home-owners, empty-nesters and college graduates. 

A vibrant social scene surrounds their older homes and apartments, and residents love the nightlife and enjoy leisure-intensive lifestyles.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Costco
  • Bought classical music
  • Read Harper’s Bazaar
  • Watched BBC America
  • Drove a Lexus LX”

Second Tier Urban Centers

Let’s now compare the remaining three Digitally Mobile lifestyles living in less dense urban geographical areas.  Here’s how they stack up.

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 5,237,962
  • Median Household Income : $78,091

Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?

We use Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle segmentation profiles to evaluate best places for relocation to more authentic, quality-of-life communities.

And, if your community already includes the following profiles, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on in your neighbors’ lives.

Wealthy Influential, Digitally Mobiles (WIDM) – two 30-44 year old  midlife couples and one Empty Nest 45+ year old couple.

“Among second-tier cities, Second City Society stands at the top of the heap, a social group consisting of the wealthiest families who live outside the nation’s metropolitan core. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

The three segments in this group are dominated with married couples with children, college degrees, large homes, and executive jobs.

Ethnically, the residents are predominantly white with above-average rates of Asian Americans.

In the marketplace, they spend big on digital and wireless technology, business and cultural media, casual dining restaurants, upscale retailers, foreign travel and luxury cars.”

Where in the will you find this lifestyle? 

Google Maps: Santa Fe, NM

Two in the Western Region of the United States and one in the South Eastern Region

  • Ft. Myers, FL
  • Louisville, CO
  • Santa Fe, NM

 

Which of the following lifestyles best describes you?

12Y1C1, Brite Lites Lil City, 30-44, Couples, Midlife, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials (Santa Fe, NM)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,832,821 (1.57%)
  • Median Household Income: $72,461

Digitally Mobiles (WIDM): “Not all of the America’s chic sophisticates live in major metros. 

Brite Lights, Li’l City is a group of well-off, middle-aged couples settled in the nation’s satellite cities. 

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Residents of these typical DINK (double income, no kids) households have college educations, well-paying business and professional careers and swank homes filled with the latest technology. 

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Crate & Barrel
  • Participated in fantasy sports
  • Read Skiing
  • Watched Lost
  • Drove a Volkswagen CC

13F2C1, Upward Bound, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials (Louisville, CO)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,955,876 (1.67%)
  • Median Household Income: $83,651

Digitally Mobiles (WIDM): “More than any other segment, Upward Bound appears to be the home of those legendary Soccer Moms and Dads. 

In these small satellite cities, upper-class families boast dual incomes, college degrees and new split-levels and colonials. 

Residents of Upward Bound tend to be kid-obsessed, with heavy purchases of computers, action figures, dolls, board games, bicycles and camping equipment. 

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from target.com
  • Bought toys by Internet
  • Read PC Gamer
  • Watched The N
  • Drove a Toyota Sequoia

10M1C1, Second City Elite, 45+, Couples, Affluent Empty Nests, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials(Ft. Myers, FL)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,449,265 (1.24%)
  • Median Household Income: $77,612

Digitally Mobiles (WIDM): “There’s money to be found in the nation’s smaller cities, and you’re most likely to find it in Second City Elite.

The residents of these satellite cities tend to be prosperous executives who decorate their ($200,000 not any longer) homes with multiple computers, large screen TV sets and an impressive collection of wines. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

With more than half holding college degrees, Second City Elite residents enjoy cultural activities-from reading books to attending theater to dance productions.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Talbots
  • Belonged to a civic club
  • Read Coastal Living
  • Watched Washington Week
  • Drove a Lincoln Town Car Flex Fuel”

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Steps:

8) Sit down with your spouse, partner or friends and write up your bucket list of places.

20) Pivot. Maybe the lists of best places don’t appeal to you. Where can you go to make a fresh, new start? Don’t limit your imagination. Think anywhere — across the globe. Where do you really, really want to live, work and play?  Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?

21)  Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

Which of These 65+ Year Old Lifestyle Profiles Fits You Best?

Strewn among remote farm communities across the nation, Back Country Folks are a long way away from economic paradise.

 

Photo: Visual Hunt
It is during this time through retrospection that we look back to contemplate our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.

 

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

Lifestyle Segments by Ages

The final installment in a 10-Part Series.

Part One:  Which of These 20-29 Year Old Lifestyles Fits You?

Part Two: Which 20-44 Year Old Family Lifestyles Fits You?

Part Three: Which of These 7 Single 25-54 Year Old Lifestyles Fits You Best?

Part Four: Which 25-54 Year Old Family Lifestyle Describes You Best?

Part Five: Which 30-44 Year Old Couple Lifestyle Fits You Best?

Part Six: Which 35-54 Year Old Family Lifestyle Describes You Best?

Part Seven: Which 45+ Year Old Lifestyle Describes You Best?

Part Eight: Which Classic 55+ Year Old Lifestyle Describes You Best?

Part Nine: Which of These 7 Mature 55+ Year Old Lifestyles Describes You?

60-Somethings

You’re coming to grips with what life means when you’ve reached the last chapter of your life.

When retirement is approaching or has already taken place.

Fulfillment  or Despair, Depression and Hopelessness

The last and eighth developmental stage is called Maturity.

Photo: Wikipedia

As we grow older and become senior citizens, according to Erikson’s theory, we tend to slow down our productivity and explore life as a retired person.

It is during this time through retrospection that we look back to contemplate our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.

If so we develop feelings of contentment and integrity if we believe we have led a happy, productive life.

Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?

You’ll find them in more rustic Wireless Resort and High Country Eagle neighborhoods and in less affluent Permanent Temporary communities.

  • Wireless Resorters – Distant Exurbans (WRDE)
  • High Country Eagles – Small Town Borders (HCESTB) and two Rustic Eagles (HCERE)
  • Permanent Temporaries – The Cutters (PTTC) and  two Urban Trapped (PTUT)

We use Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle segmentation profiles to evaluate best places for relocation to more authentic, quality-of-life communities.

And, if your community already includes the following profiles, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on in your neighbors’ lives.

We know the number of households and income levels for comparison purposes based upon Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM 2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 12,101,672
  • Median Household Income : $29,346

Sustaining Seniors are filled with older, economically challenged Americans.

Racially mixed and dispersed throughout the country, they all score high for having residents who are over 65 years old and household incomes under $25,000.

Photo: Visual Hunt

Many are single or widowed, have modest educational achievement and live in older apartments or small homes.

On their fixed incomes, they lead low-key, home-centered lifestyles.

They’re big on watching TV, gardening, sewing and woodworking.

Their social life often revolves around activities at veterans clubs and fraternal organizations.

Where in the West will you find those seven lifestyles?

Southwest United States – Wikitravel

We’ve identified four in California and one community each in Arizona, New Mexico and Montana:

  • Long Beach, CA
  • Palm Desert, CA
  • Seal Beach, CA
  • Eureka, CA
  • Elgin, AZ
  • Taos, NM
  • Whitefish, MT

Which of the following lifestyles best describes you?

55M4T4, Golden Ponds, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Couples, Rustic Living, WRDE Distant Exurbans, Wireless Resorters ( Elgin, AZ)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 1,985,453 (1.70%)
  • Median HH Income: $31,657

Distant Exurbans (WRDE): Golden Ponds is mostly a retirement lifestyle, dominated by downscale singles and couples over 65 years old. 

Found in small bucolic towns around the country, these high school-educated seniors live in small apartments on less than $25,000 a year; one in five resides in a nursing home.

Photo: Visual Hunt

For these elderly residents, daily life is often a succession of sedentary activities such as reading, watching TV, playing bingo and doing craft projects.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Purchased in-home vitamins 
  • Ordered garden supplies by phone
  • Read American Legion Magazine
  • Watched The Price is Right
  • Drove a Mercury Sable”

57M4T4, Old Milltown, 65+, Sustaining Seniors, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles ( Taos, NM)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 1,845,943 (1.58%)
  • Median Household Income: $30,608

Rustic Eagles (HCERE):  “America’s once-thriving mining and manufacturing towns have aged-as have the residents in Old Milltowns communities

Today, the majority of residents are retired singles and couples, living on downscale incomes in pre-1960 homes and apartments.

Photo: Visual Hunt

For leisure, they enjoy gardening, sewing, socializing at veterans clubs or eating out at casual restaurants.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Ordered from Home Shopping Network
  • Did needlepoint
  • Read Good Housekeeping
  • Watched As the World Turns
  • Drove a GMC Canyon”

58M4T4, Back Country Folks, 65+Sustaining Seniors, Rustic Living, HCERE Rustic Eagles, High Country Eagles (Whitefish, MT)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 2,658,532 (2.27%)
  • Median Household Income: $32,207

Rustic Eagles (HCERE):  “Strewn among remote farm communities across the nation, Back Country Folks are a long way away from economic paradise.

The residents tend to be poor, over 55 years old and living in older, modest-sized homes and manufactured housing. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Typically, life in this segment is a throwback to an earlier era when farming dominated the American landscape.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Ordered from Publishers Clearing House
  • Belonged to church board
  • Read Hunting
  • Watched Soapnet
  • Drove a Ford Ranger”

59M4U3, Urban Elders, 65+, Sustaining Seniors, Urban Cores, Urban, PTUT Urban Trapped, Permanent Temporaries (Long Beach, CA)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 1,532,998 (1.31%)
  • Median Household Income: $24,864

Urban Trapped (PTUT): “For Urban Elders-a segment located in the downtown neighborhoods of such metros as New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Miami life is often an economic struggle. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

These communities have high concentrations of Hispanics and African-Americans, and tend to be downscale, with singles living in older apartment rentals.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Shopped at Rite Aid
  • Traveled Domestically on JetBlue
  • Read Essence
  • Watched Primer Impacto
  • Drove a Ford Crown Victoria”

60M4C3, Park Bench Seniors, 65+Sustaining Seniors,  Micro-City Blues – HCESTB Small Town Borders, High Country Eagles (Palm Desert, CA)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 1,345,679 (1.15%)
  • Median Household Income: $24,290

Small Town Borders (HCESTB): Park Bench Seniors typically are retired singles living in the racially mixed neighborhoods of the nation’s satellite cities. 

With modest educations and incomes, these residents maintain low-key, sedentary lifestyles. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Theirs is one of the top-ranked segments for TV viewing, especially daytime soaps and game shows.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Purchased in-home housewares 
  • Bought gospel music
  • Read Jet
  • Watched The People’s Court
  • Drove a Suzuki Reno”

61M4U3, City Roots, 65+, Seniors, Sustaining Seniors, Urban Cores, Urban, PTUT Urban Trapped, Permanent Temporaries (Seal Beach, CA)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 1,326,369 (1.13%)
  • Median Household Income: $28,006

Urban Trapped (PTUT): Found in urban neighborhoods, City Roots is a segment of lower-income retirees, typically living in older homes and duplexes they’ve owned for years. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

In these ethnically diverse neighborhoods-more than a third are African-American and Hispanic residents are often widows and widowers living on fixed incomes and maintaining low-key lifestyles.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Ordered from drugstore.com
  • Gambled in Reno, NV
  • Read Town & Country
  • Watched NAACP Image Awards
  • Drove a Chrysler 300″

62M4C3, Hometown Retired , 65+, Seniors, Sustaining Seniors, Second Tier Cities, Micro-City Blues, PTTC The Cutters, Permanent Temporaries (Eureka, CA)

2011 Statistics

  • US Households: 1,406,698 (1.20%)
  • Median Household Income: $27,609

The Cutters (PTTC):  With three-quarters of all residents over 65 years old, Hometown Retired is one of the oldest lifestyles. 

These racially mixed seniors tend to live in aging homes-half were built before 1958-and typically get by on social security and modest pensions. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Because most never made it beyond high school and spent their working lives at blue-collar jobs, their retirements are extremely modest.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Ordered items by mail
  • Collected stamps
  • Read Womans Day
  • Watched Judge Judy
  • Drove a Mercury Grand Marquis”

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Steps:

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

Which of These 7 Mature 55+ Year Old Lifestyles Describes You?

The second over 55 age group splinters into 7 lifestyle segments stretching across the midlevel of status and influence.

 

Photo: Visual Hunt
They have high rates for reading, travel, eating out at family restaurants and pursuing home-based hobbies like coin collecting and gardening.

 

Part One:  Which Classic 55+ Year Old Lifestyle Describes You Best?

Lifestyles Segments by Ages

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

50-Somethings

Gail Sheehy called this time of life the “Fearless or Flaming 50s”.

And, we’re about halfway through Erik Erikson’s Adulthood.

Existential Question:  Can I make my life count?

 

55+ Year Old Singles, Couples and Widows

By the time you’re in your mid-fifties your generation’s cohort splinters into 13 lifestyle segments stretching across the midlevel of status and influence.

Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM groups the more affluent seven segments into what they call Conservative Classics.

Another large group of Mature Years segments is Cautious Couples, featuring an over-55-year-old mix of singles, couples and widows.

We know the number of households and income levels for comparison purposes based upon Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM 2011 Statistics:

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 12,266,568
  • Median Household Income : $41,303
Photo: Visual Hunt

Widely scattered throughout the nation, the residents in these seven segments typically are working-class and white, with some college education and a high rate of homeownership. 

Given their blue-collar roots, Cautious Couples today pursue sedate lifestyles. 

They have high rates for reading, travel, eating out at family restaurants and pursuing home-based hobbies like coin collecting and gardening.”

Where are you likely to these more cautious seven  lifestyles?

Southwest United States – Wikitravel

Here’s a sample of lifestyles and communities where you can find neighbors in the 55+ age group in the West.

  • Arizona: Prescott and Surprise
  • California: La Mirada and Idyllwild
  • Colorado: Lakewood
  • New Mexico: Santa Fe

The second over 55 age group splinters into 7 lifestyle segments stretching across the midlevel of status and influence.

Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?

  • Wealthy Influentials – Portfolio Locals (WIPL)
  • Wireless Resorters –  Two Resort Suburbans (WRRS)
  • High Country Eagles – Satellite City-zens (HCESC)
  • Permanent Temporaries – Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM) and Two Start Overs (PTSO)

Which of the following lifestyle profiles describes you best?

38M3T3, Simple Pleasures, 55+, Couples, Cautious Couples, Middle America, WRRS Resort Suburbans, Wireless Resorters (Idyllwild, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,754,587 (2.36%)
  • Median Household Income: $43,257

Resort Suburbans (WRRS): With more than two-thirds of its residents over 65 years old, Simple Pleasures is mostly a retirement lifestyle: a neighborhood of lower-middle-class singles and couples living in modestly priced homes.

Photo: Visual Hunt

Many are high school-educated seniors who held blue-collar jobs before their retirement.

And a disproportionate number served in the military; no segment has more members of veterans clubs.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at True Value
  • Belonged to a fraternal order
  • Read fraternal magazines
  • Watched Wheel of Fortune
  • Drove Ford Taurus”

39M3S3, Domestic Duos, 55+, Couples, Cautious Couples, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Lakewood, CO)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,398,562 (1.20%)
  • Median Household Income: $49,261

Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM): Domestic Duos represents a middle-class mix of mainly over 55 singles and married couples living in older suburban homes.

Photo: Visual Hunt

With their high-school educations and fixed incomes, segment residents maintain an easy-going lifestyle.

Residents like to socialize by going bowling, seeing a play, meeting at the local fraternal order or going out to eat

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Kohl’s
  • Cruised on Norwegian
  • Read Smithsonian
  • Watched Live from Lincoln Center
  • Drove a Chevrolet Impala”

40M3U2, Close-In Couples, 55+, Couples, Cautious Couples, Midtown Mix – WIPL Portfolio Locals, Wealthy Influentials (La Mirada, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,327,575 (1.14%)
  • Median Household Income: $40,860

Portfolio Locals (WIPL):  Close-In Couples is a group of predominantly older, African-American couples living in older homes in the urban neighborhoods of mid-sized metros.

Photo: Visual Hunt

High school educated and empty nesting, these 55-year-old-plus residents typically live in older city neighborhoods, enjoying secure and comfortable retirements.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Macy’s
  • Traveled domestically by railroad
  • Read The New Yorker
  • Watched The View
  • Drove a Chrysler PT Cruiser”

41M3C2, Sunset City Blues, 55+ Couples, Cautious Couples, Empty Nests – City Centers, HCESC Satellite City-zens, High Country Eagles (Santa Fe, NM)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,083,443 (1.78%)
  • Median Household Income: $39,366

Satellite City-zens (HCESC): Scattered throughout the older neighborhoods of small cities, Sunset City Blues is a segment of lower-middle-class singles and couples who have retired or are getting closed to it.

These empty-nesters tend to own their homes but have modest educations and incomes.

Photo: Visual Hunt

They maintain a low-key lifestyle filled with newspapers and television by day, and family-style restaurants at night.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from QVC
  • Collected coins
  • Read Ladies’ Home Journal
  • Watched One Life to Live
  • Drove a Kia Borrego”

43M3T3, Heartlanders, 55+, Couples, Cautious Couples, Middle America – WRRS Resort Suburbans , Wireless Resorters (Prescott. AZ)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,334,924 (2.00%)
  • Median Household Income: $43,485

Resort Suburbans (WRRS): America was once a land of small middleclass towns, which can still be found today among Heartlanders.

Photo: Visual Hunt

This widespread segment consists of middle-aged couples with working-class jobs living in sturdy, unpretentious homes.

In these communities of small families and empty-nesting couples, Heartlanders pursue a rustic lifestyle where hunting and fishing remain prime leisure activities along with cooking, sewing, camping and boating.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Shopped at Kmart
  • Sewed clothing from patterns
  • Read Family Handyman
  • Watched CBS Early Show
  • Drove a GMC Sierra Flex Fuel”

46M3S4, Old Glories, 55+, Cautious Couples, Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries (none in Knowledge Bank)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,155,944 (0.99%)
  • Median Household Income: $31,162

Start Overs (PTSO): Old Glories are the nation’s downscale suburban retirees, Americans aging in place in older apartment complexes.

These racially mixed households often contain widows and widowers living on fixed incomes, and they tend to lead home-centered lifestyles.

Photo: Visual Hunt

They’re among the nation’s most ardent television fans, watching game shows, soaps, talk shows and newsmagazines at high rates.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Purchased Clothing In-Home
  • Played bingo
  • Read Saturday Evening Post
  • Watched Jeopardy!
  • Drove a Kia Rio”

49M3S4, American Classics, 55+, Cautious Couples, Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries (Surprise, AZ)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,211,533 (1.04%)
  • Median Household Income: $34,680

Start Overs (PTSO): “They may be older, lower-middle class and retired, but the residents of American Classics are still living the American Dream of home ownership.

Photo: Visual Hunt

Few segments rank higher in their percentage of home owners, and that fact alone reflects a more comfortable lifestyle for these predominantly white singles and couples with deep ties.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from Reader’s Digest
  • Gambled in Atlantic City, NJ
  • Read American Woodworker
  • Watched The Dr. Phil Show
  • Drove a Chevrolet Monte Carlo”

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Steps:

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

Which 30-44 Year Old Couple Lifestyle Fits You Best?

The eight segments in Midlife Success make up more affluent  Younger Years class.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

 

Lifestyles Segments by Ages

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

20-Somethings

You’ll notice that, in general, the older you get, the more affluent you become.

According to Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM 20-29 Singles “make up the most downscale” of the four 20-something lifestyle groups.

Especially when compared to the next older set of single lifestyles – 25-54 year olds.

And the younger 20-44 year old families occupy the  lowest affluent rankings for lifestyle profiles even within other family groups, no matter what age.

That comparison also includes the last of the seven 20-something families lifestyles in the 25-54 age group.

30-Somethings

Now let’s turn your attention to the first of two more affluent groups within the “30-Something” age range.

Gail Sheehy

According to Gail Sheehy,  this is the Making It  stage … they set a timetable for fulfilling their goals.

It is of consuming importance to become acknowledged as a junior member of their occupational tribe.

Men who continue to focus narrowly their external goals can be, more than at any other time in their lives, shallow and boring.

My have mastered early adult tensions, or still working on them.”

30-44 Singles and Couples

The eight segments in Midlife Success make up more affluent  Younger Years class.

  • Wealthy Influentials – One Affluently Elite (WIAE), Two Exurb Society (WIES) and  two Digitally Mobiles (WIDM)
  • Wireless Resorters – Premier Resorts (WRPR) and two Maturing Resorts (WRMR)
  • One Permanent Temporary – Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM)

We use Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle segmentation profiles to evaluate best places for relocation to more authentic, quality-of-life communities.

And, if your community already includes the following profiles, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on in your neighbors’ lives.

We know the number of households and income levels for comparison purposes based upon Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM 2011 Statistics:

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 14,633,208
  • Median Household Income : $69,063

The segments in Midlife Success typically are filled with childless singles and couples in their thirties and forties. 

Attracting Trend-Setting Couples Photo: Visual Hunt

The wealthiest of the Younger Years class, this group is home to many white, college-educated residents who make six-figure incomes at executive and professional jobs but also extends to more middle class segments. 

Most of these segments are found in suburban and exurban communities, and consumers here are big fans of the latest technology, financial products, aerobic exercise and travel.

Where are you likely to these eight more affluent single and couple lifestyles?

Four in California, two in Colorado, and one each in Arizona and New Mexico: 

Downtown Bolder, Colorado Photo: Visual Hunt
  • Irvine, CA
  • Mission Viejo, CA
  • Truckee, CA
  • Westwood, CA
  • Boulder, CO
  • Louisville, CO
  • Scottsdale, AZ
  • Santa Fe, NM

Which of the following 30-Something, Midlife Success Lifestyles  describes you best?

03Y1S1, Movers & Shakers,  30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Elite Suburbs, Affluently Elite – WIAE, Wealthy Influentials (Scottsdale, AZ)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,878,356 (1.61%)
  • Median Household Income: $103,357

Affluently Elite  (WIAE): Movers & Shakers is home to America’s up-and-coming business class: a wealthy suburban world of dual-income couples who are highly educated, typically between the ages of 35 and 54 and often with children. 

Given its high percentage of executives and white-collar professionals, there’s a decided business bent to this segment: 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Movers & Shakers rank number one for owning a small business and having a home office. 

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from J.Crew
  • Attended NHL games
  • Read Inc.
  • Watched Saturday Night Live
  • Drove a Land Rover Range Rover”

08Y1S2, Executive Suites, 30-44,  Couples, Midlife Success, Affluentials, Exurb Society, WIES, Wealthy Influentials (Mission Viejo, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,068,292 (0.91%)
  • Median Household Income: $73,951

Exurb Society (WIES): “Executive Suites consists of upper middle class singles and couples typically living just beyond the nation’s beltways. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Filled with significant numbers of Asian Americans and college graduates-both groups are represented at more than twice the national average.

This segment is a haven for white-collar professionals drawn to comfortable homes and apartments within a manageable commute to downtown jobs, restaurants and entertainment.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at IKEA
  • Played racquetball
  • Read Wired
  • Watched The Office
  • Drove an Acura TSX”

11Y1T1, God’s Country, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Landed Gentry, WRMR, Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Boulder, CO)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,699,924 (1.45%)
  • Median Household Income: $83,935

Maturing Resorts (WRMR): When city dwellers and suburbanites began moving to the country in the 1970s, God’s Country emerged as the most affluent of the nation’s exurban lifestyles. 

Photo: Stephen G. Howard

Today, wealthier communities exist in the hinterlands, but God’s Country remains a haven for upper income couples in spacious homes.

Typically college-educated Baby Boomers, these Americans try to maintain a balanced lifestyle between high-power jobs and laid back leisure.

Lifestyle & Media Traits

  • Ordered from zappos.com
  • Took golf vacations
  • Read Yachting
  • Watched Bloomberg Television
  • Drove an Audi S6″

12Y1C1, Brite Lites Lil City, 30-44, Couples, Midlife, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials (Santa Fe, NM)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,832,821 (1.57%)
  • Median Household Income: $72,461

Digitally Mobiles (WIDM): “Not all of the America’s chic sophisticates live in major metros. 

Brite Lights, Li’l City is a group of well-off, middle-aged couples settled in the nation’s satellite cities. 

Santa Fe, New Mexico Photo: Visual Hunt

Residents of these typical DINK (double income, no kids) households have college educations, well-paying business and professional careers and swank homes filled with the latest technology. 

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Crate & Barrel
  • Participated in fantasy sports
  • Read Skiing
  • Watched Lost
  • Drove a Volkswagen CC

13F2C1, Upward Bound, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Second City Society, WIDM Digitally Mobiles, Wealthy Influentials (Louisville, CO)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,955,876 (1.67%)
  • Median Household Income: $83,651

Digitally Mobiles (WIDM): “More than any other segment, Upward Bound appears to be the home of those legendary Soccer Moms and Dads. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

In these small satellite cities, upper-class families boast dual incomes, college degrees and new split-levels and colonials. 

Residents of Upward Bound tend to be kid-obsessed, with heavy purchases of computers, action figures, dolls, board games, bicycles and camping equipment. 

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from target.com
  • Bought toys by Internet
  • Read PC Gamer
  • Watched The N
  • Drove a Toyota Sequoia

19Y1S2, Home Sweet Home, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Suburbs, Affluentials, WIES Exurb Society, Wealthy Influentials, ( (Irvine, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,127,048 (1.82%)
  • Median Household Income: $68,185

Exurb Society (WIES): Widely scattered across the nation’s suburbs, the residents of Home Sweet Home tend to be upper-middle-class married couples living in mid-sized homes with few children. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

The adults in the segment, mostly between the ages of 25 and 54, have gone to college and hold professional and white-collar jobs.

With their upscale incomes and small families, these folks have fashioned comfortable lifestyles, filling their homes with toys, TV sets and pets.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Ordered from BarnesandNoble.com
  • Bought collectors Items online
  • Read Macworld
  • Watched Discovery Health Channel
  • Drove a Volkswagen Passat”

25Y1T1, Country Casuals, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Landed Gentry, WRPR Premier Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Westwood, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,741,070 (1.49%)
  • Median Household Income: $71,235

Premier Resorts (WRPR):  “There’s a laid-back atmosphere in Country Casuals, a collection of middle-aged, upper middle-class households that have started to empty-nest. 

Photo: Visual Hunt

Workers here-and most households boast two earners-have wellpaying blue- or white-collar jobs, or own small businesses. 

Today these Baby-Boom couples have the disposable income to enjoy traveling, owning timeshares and going out to eat.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at priceline.com
  • Did woodworking
  • Read Everyday With Rachel Ray
  • Watched Great American Country Channel
  • Drove Ford F-Series Diesels”

30Y1S3, Suburban Sprawl, 30-44, Singles Midlife, Suburbs,  PTIMM Interim Middle Managers (none in knowledge bank)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 1,529,350 (1.31%)
  • Median Household Income: $50,584
Photo: Visual Hunt

Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM):  “Suburban Sprawl is an unusual American lifestyle: a collection of midscale, middle-aged singles and couples living in the heart of suburbia. 

Typically members of the Baby Boom generation, they hold decent jobs, own older homes and condos, and pursue cocooning versions of the American Dream.

Among their favorite activities are jogging on treadmills, playing trivia games and renting videos.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at FedEx Kinkos
  • Sung karaoke
  • Read Cycle World
  • Watched Scrubs
  • Drove a Mazda 6″

37Y1T2, Mayberry-ville, 25-54, Families, Couples, Midlife Success, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Truckee, CA)

2011 Statistics:

  • US Households: 2,756,347 (2.36%)
  • Median Household Income: $53,744

Maturing Resorts (WRMR): “Like the old Andy Griffith show set in a quaint picturesque berg, Mayberry-ville harks back to an old-fashioned way of life.

Photo: Visual Hunt

In these small towns, middle-class couples and families like to fish and hunt during the day, and stay home and watch TV at night.

With lucrative blue-collar jobs and moderately priced housing, residents use their discretionary cash to purchase boats, campers, motorcycles and pickup trucks.

Lifestyle & Media Traits:

  • Shopped at Sherwin-Williams
  • Went hunting with a gun
  • Read Bassmaster
  • Watched Daytona 500
  • Drove a GMC Sierra Diesel”

Will you find a 100% fit?

No.

These lifestyle descriptions are intended to paint a picture of a new neighborhood you’d enjoy, because you share some of the same traits with current residents.

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

30-Somethings Part Two: 35-54 Families

Steps:

26) If you know the zip code you can discover the lifestyles living in the community. You can compare your profile with theirs to estimate your degree of fit.

27) Estimate how well suited you are for the resorts. Refer to “Profiles-at-a-Glance” comparing 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 for changes in Life Stages – Singles, Couples, Families, Midlife, Empty Nests, Baby Boomers and Seniors; Ages – 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+ 45-65, 55+ and 65+; and mix of Lifestyles in neighborhoods. Does the resort still offer the age, life stage and lifestyle profiles you prefer?

65+ Years Old: Maturity, Integrity and Wisdom

“The real question is, what does it mean to live to full effect? How do you know if you are fulfilling your time, or wasting it?”

 

These days, all my sixtysomething friends seem to be taking care of aging parents. Too many — most of them male — are fighting serious health issues of their own. They are tough old boots, all of them.

 

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

The final installment in a 9-part Life Stage series:

Part One:  She’s Leaving Home, Not Living Alone (Buy Buy)

Part Two:  Failing at Growing Up

Part Three:  Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage, or …

Part Four:  Crisis and Pivots for 28 -32 Year Olds

Part Five:  Making It – Ages 30 – 38

Part Six:  Authenticity Crisis for 35 – 45 Year Olds

Part Seven:  Renewal or Resignation in Your Mid-40s

Part Eight: 55 Year Olds- Millennials and Empty Nests

So there’s this generation that used to be all that.

The one born between 1946, beginning nine months after World War II ended and 1964 more or less.

Look it up, but the number stuck in my brain is about 75 or 78 million.

They used to dominate all those demographic lifestyle segments advertising executives drooled over.

They were the Millennials of their time.

A time so long ago …

Turning 60

Chris Erskine. Meanwhile, many of my friends are turning 60, and though I have a long way to go till I reach that particular benchmark (six months), witnessing so many milestones at once can really take a toll on a fella.

“You’re turning 60?” I always tell my friends.

“That’s just so great!!!”

Really?!!

Integrity or Despair

Erik Erikson’s last and eighth developmental stage is called Maturity.

Approximate Age: Maturity ( 65 – death)

Significant Relationship: Mankind, my kind

Existential Question:  Is it okay to have been me?

Examples: Reflection on life

Psychosocial Crisis: Integrity vs. Despair

Virtues: Wisdom

A lot of stuff comes with approaching the traditional retirement age.

That age when Erskine’s generation viewed their parents living their second half of life – the Golden Years – with a pension, receiving monthly social security checks and picking up divots on a par five in Sarasota, Florida as boring.

A given.

But, now not so much.

And tomorrow, probably not at all.

Entering Act III with Doctors and Adult Kids

Daditude: The Joys & Absurdities of Modern Fatherhood by Chris Erskine

Turning sixty is a weird time, Erskine says, for him and his friends.

A time when they look back to times they spent when they were younger.

A time when their kids were younger.

I sometimes wish our kids were all 10 again, how that period was a holiday season all its own; it was magical, finite and flew by too fast.

A time when the kids needed coaching and rough housing.

A time when the parents had to remind them about chores and unfinished homework.

Now things are just different.

Erskine.  “Truth is, I find this a weird time for me and my buddies.

Most of our children are now adults, working for tyrants, finding their way.

That’s just how the real world works.

Erskine’s friend puts what’s different into perspective for him – like a three act screen play.

Act I ends with college graduation.

Act II ends with the empty nest.

“Act III,” my buddy Siskin calls it.

So now, most of us are entering Act III.

Ask any writer, Act II is the toughest.

The middle of any story meanders, drifts, struggles and is often the death of art itself.”

Wisdom and Life Acceptance

Erskine’s writes about what comes with the Act III territory.

Coming to grips with what it means when you’ve reached the last chapter of your life.

When retirement is approaching or has already taken place.

Stories about “Is it okay to have been me?”

And other reflections on life.

Examples of leaving the second half of adulthood and embarking on maturity.

Erikson (at least the Wikipedia version) describes what happens.

“Ego-integrity means the acceptance of life in its fullness: the victories and the defeats, what was accomplished and what was not accomplished.

Wisdom is the result of successfully accomplishing this final developmental task.

Wisdom is defined as “informed and detached concern for life itself in the face of death itself.””

Erskine reflects on a book review, a memoire written about turning 60.

Erskine. “Like a pro athlete just retired, he seems pretty convinced that most of life’s good times are behind him.

Likewise, there is very little chirpy, New Age navel-gazing to his writing.

His mind is keen and active, and his pages are full of fine references to poets and artists who he knows also dealt with the minefield of late middle age.

Erskine says the book takes on topics like his love life, physical changes, marriage struggles with, family relations brother and more.

He speaks of his existential crises:

“The real question is, what does it mean to live to full effect?

How do you know if you are fulfilling your time, or wasting it?

Fulfillment  or Despair, Depression and Hopelessness

As we grow older and become senior citizens, according to Erikson’s theory, we tend to slow down our productivity and explore life as a retired person.

It is during this time through retrospection that we look back to contemplate our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.

If so we develop feelings of contentment and integrity if we believe we have led a happy, productive life.

But if we see our life as unproductive, or feel that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness.

Instead of contentment, we  may instead develop a pervasive sense of despair when we recall a life of disappointments and unachieved goals.

This stage can occur out of the sequence when an individual feels they are near the end of their life (such as when receiving a terminal disease diagnosis).

Stage 4 Cancer

Erskine.  “Well, the doctors had said “cancer, Stage 4,” so I suppose Posh was a little desperate.

Chris Erskine at the Los Angeles Times

I was there to help, and eager as a dumb puppy.

I didn’t feel responsible for her cancer, just every other challenge in her life: the plain little ranch house, the minivan with the “check-engine” light aglow, the dryer that kept scorching the shirts.

Most of all, a topsy-turvy marriage.

Like taking on the day in and day out responsibilities of caring for an aging parent Erskine’s normal routine dramatically  changed.

And he was the funny one.

Churning out humorous weekly syndicated essays about what it was like living in the Los Angeles suburbs with four children during his own middle age years.

Bad as all that was, she had cancer, which is worse than about anything else that can ever happen.

How could I gripe about the missing tax records — or anything — when she was enduring injections, transfusions, lab tests, fatigue, nausea and hair loss?

A good day was one where they didn’t poke her with a 4-inch needle.

Traditional retirement age used to be 65, but not so much any more.

So depending upon your situation, it may be easier to start the countdown process five years before you expect to retire.

Will it be 70 or 75 or 55?

These recommendations will still hold up.

You pick the time when you want retirement to start and work backwards to the time left.

Seriously, do this.

You know you put a lot of time and effort into planning your annual vacations.

So, put in the same time and energy into a project that protects your nest egg and well-being with piece of mind.

Erskine. “Meanwhile, my friends and I are at a more bittersweet stage, with five or so years left in our careers.

Every conversation has started to include talk of doctors.

Any car we buy might be our last.

Pre-Retirement Countdown

Time Left Before Retiring – Five Years

Finances: 

Take a stab at answering The Big Question: Will you  have saved enough to retire in five years?

Erskine.  Which one of you handles the finances?” the advisor asked.

From Posh, a sideways glance.

“Money does,” Posh said.

“Who’s Money? the advisor asked.

“We call my husband ‘Money,'” Posh explained, “but he’s sooooo not.

Lifestyle:  

How you and your spouse wish to spend time in retirement.

Take an inventory of your past and current interests, hobbies and activities.

One of the mentors in our Executive MBA program told me he wrote a book and set up his consulting practice, because so much golf and so much traveling didn’t cut it any more.

Estate Planning:

Make sure you have a will, an appointed power-of-attorney, health-care directives and an estate plan.

Otherwise, someone else will be calling the shots and siphoning off your hard-earned savings.

Time Left Before Retiring – Four Years

Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Finances:

Start thinking about Social Security. Talk to your financial advisor.  Check out all the tools and resources on the Social Security Administration’s website.

Lifestyle:

Start exploring your ideas.

Erskine.  “Oh, I jest because after living here for nearly 30 years, I love L.A. and its open minds … its empty minds, and every now and then, its very brilliant minds.

In L.A., you’ll run across the smartest people you’ll ever meet, and they’ll probably be driving for Uber.

Still, it is a magnificent and inspiring place — America’s shining city on a hill.

For active Millennials, Gen-Xers, Baby Boomers, and well everyone else living in California the high cost of living, taxes and congested living conditions in and around Los Angeles pushes “Golden Staters” like Erskine to actively consider moving.

But …

You’d have to move to Monaco to find mountains this close to beaches, or wild animals this close to ingénues.

In the foothills, we keep black bears as pets.”

Potential outbound movers need to draw up a bucket list of best places that offsets living near the Pacific Ocean and local mountains.

Start with the no- or low-tax states and carefully weigh the tradeoffs.

A quality-of-life resort community may be so remote that it lacks adequate healthcare locally, for instance.

Erskine’s advice for potential inbound vacationers-turned-residents?

“If you live right, most of the time you will have seawater in your hair.

Most of the year, your bare feet will have a leathery bottom, as if it is always summer.

It isn’t.

Densely Populated Urban Neighborhoods

All that “endless summer” stuff comes from the ’50s and ’60s.

The bohemian vibe from that time is slipping away, quashed by gentrification and surprisingly long work weeks.

If you’re considering relocating, research the communities you’re interested in.

In addition to Claritas and City-data.com you may want to add helpful resources  like: Relocationessentials.com, NeighborhoodScout.com and RetirementLiving.com.

Time Left Before Retiring – Three Years

Lifestyle:

If you plan to relocate, start visiting communities on your short bucket list.

Don’t have a short list yet?

Southwest United States – Wikitravel

Take a look at these western towns with seven 65+ lifestyles that might just get your started:

Arizona: Elgin

California: Palm Desert, Eureka, Long Beach, Seal Beach

MontanaWhitefish

New Mexico: Taos

Seven Lifestyle Profiles: 65+

Singles and Couples: Wireless Resorters, High Country Eagles and Permanent Temporaries.

Communities

Wireless Resorters

55M4T4, Golden Ponds – WRDE Distant Exurbans (Elgin, AZ)

Communities

High Country Eagles

60M4C3, Park Bench Seniors – HCESTB Small Town Borders (Palm Desert, CA)

57M4T4 Old Milltown – HCERE Rustic Eagles (Taos, NM)

58M4T4, Back Country Folks – HCERE Rustic Eagles (Whitefish, MT)

Communities

Permanent Temporaries

62M4C3, Hometown Retired – PTTC The Cutters (Eureka, CA)

59M4U3, Urban Elders – PTUT Urban Trapped (Long Beach, CA)

61M4U3, City Roots – PTUT Urban Trapped (Seal Beach, CA)

Finances: 

Request an estimate of any pension or retiree medical benefits you are eligible to receive from your employer.

Health Care:

Get educated about Medicare.

You won’t want to be penalized for signing up for basic coverage when you were supposed to, but didn’t.

Find out what’s covered and what isn’t.

Investigate all those supplemental plans you’ll need if you want vision or dental care.

Realize that you’ll have one plan while your spouse will have another.

Time Left Before Retiring – One Year

Wait, where did the time go, right?

Lifestyle: 

If you plan to start a business, draw up a detailed business plan.

Check out the 10 step process at the Small Business Administration (SBA) to get you started.

Consider all your ‘Preneurial options weighing the risks and rewards and the pros and cons before you commit your hard-earned nest egg to the vagaries of being in business for yourself.

If you want to work, check the listings at websites including RetiredBrains.com, RetirementJobs.com and SeniorJobBank.org

Finances:

Figure out how to convert your savings into a reliable stream of lifelong income.

Get a final estimate of benefits from your employer.

Don’t put it off too long or you might conveniently forget about it.

Forgetting Why You Entered the Room

Chris Erskine.  “This week marks 60 laps around the sun for me.

Sixty is pretty sexy, of course.

Sixty is AARP discounts, cruise ships and cholesterol tests.

Sixty is forgetting why you entered the room, the number of that first baseman, the name of that girl you worshiped back in high school.

The whole thing started 15-plus years ago, after our sons and daughters aged out of youth sports.

Aging Parents and Their Own Health Issues

Chris Erskine.  “Eric dodged serious cancer and has rebounded well.

Social Ties and Deep Friendships

Paul had a relapse of his cancer and with gallows humor kids about a Viking funeral on a flaming raft in Jennifer Aniston’s pool.

Posh continues her fight, as does a family friend, LP, who used to coach with me long ago.

Not far from those thoughts are recollections of another great pal, Rhymer, who died five years ago.

At 51, he was just a baby.

“Focus on the good,” Rhymer always said, even in the times when we both had to squint to find the good.

Maybe, just maybe, all you can really do is to find your own path.

Live. Love. Work. Play. Invest. Leave a Legacy.

55 Year Olds – Millennials and Empty Nests

I think it was the great subversive Tom Arnold who long ago quipped: “Kids – 10 seconds of joy, 30 years of misery.

 

Stuff’s changed in the sense that stuff that was bugging you, by the time you’re fifty-three, either you worked it out or you’ve just forgiven yourself and you’ve said, “Look, this is who I am.”

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

But to zero in on the best place for you you’ll have to visit and schedule time to explore potential new homes in a region.

Oh, darn!

Adult Life Stages

Women in their 50s

Chris Erskine. “Here’s the setting: Betsy’s backyard, on one of those SoCal patios right out of a magazine.

Daditude by Chris Erskine

Nearby, a waterfall.

And the woodwind sounds of Chardonnay cascading into a glass.

I’m not sure if it’s my fantasy or my worst nightmare, but I’m surrounded by successful women, 50ish and funny, half of them Stanford grads.

“Hi, I’m Chris, and I’m a bookaholic.” “Hi, Chris!”

We talk about the latest books awhile.

Erskine. “At 56, Posh still really rocks a tiara.

Plus, she still seems so young to me, so why shouldn’t she also share in such a wonderful celebration of budding femaleness?

If the budget allows, I plan to hire world-renowned contortionists.

Graduating Neighborhood Kids

Hope I don’t cry.

I’ll admit being very emotional lately.

Graduations.

Bar mitzvahs.

Quinceañeras.

All these are piling up for us.

Fearless or Flaming 50s

Gail Sheehy

Gail Sheehy called this time of life the “Fearless or Flaming 50s”.

She described it as a time of:

  • Accepting feelings of warmth and mellowing.
  • Making room for secondary interests.
  • Allowing them to blossom into serious work.
  • Approving our ethical and moral selves.
  • Finding our bliss and blessing our own life.

This Is Who I Am

Barack Obama. In Marc Maron’s “Waiting for the Punch President Obama says:

“Stuff’s changed in the sense that stuff that was bugging you, by the time you’re fifty-three, either you worked it out or you’ve just forgiven yourself and you’ve said, “Look, this is who I am.” 

By the time you get into your fifties, hopefully a lot of those have been resolved.

You’ve come to terms and come to peace with some stuff, and then some stuff you’ve just said, “Well, you know what, that’s just who I am.

I’ve got some flaws, I’ve got some strengths, and that’s okay.” 

The biggest fun I’ve had is watching my kids grow up, and they are magnificent.” pg 43-44.

50% Through Second Adulthood Stage

And, we’re about halfway through Erik Erikson’s Adulthood.

Approximate Age: Adulthood ( 40 – 64)

Significant Relationship: Household, workmates

Existential Question:  Can I make my life count?

Examples: Work, parenthood

Psychosocial Crisis: Generativity vs. Stagnation

Virtues: Care

By the time you’re in your mid-fifties your generation’s cohort splinters into 13 lifestyle segments stretching across the midlevel of status and influence.

Southwest United States – Wikitravel

Here’s a sample of lifestyles and communities where you can find neighbors in the 55+ age group in the West and Pacific Northwest.

  • Arizona: Prescott, Surprise
  • California: Indian Wells, Huntington Beach, La Mirada, St. Helena, Idyllwild, Laguna Hills, Ukiah
  • Colorado: Lakewood
  • New Mexico: Santa Fe
  • Washington: Mukilteo

Lifestyle Profiles: 55+

Singles, Couples and Empty-Nests: Wealthy Influentials, Wireless Resorters High Country Eagles and Permanent Temporaries.

Communities:

Wealthy Influentials

14M2S2, New Empty Nests -WIES Exurb Society (Indian Wells, CA)

15M2S2, Patios & Pools, Empty Nests -WIES Exurb Society (Mukilteo, WA)

26M2U1, The Cosmopolitans, Couples – WIDM Digitally Mobiles (Huntington Beach, CA)

40M3U2, Close-In Couples – WIPL Portfolio Locals (La Mirada, CA)

Wireless Resorters

28M2T2, Traditional Times, Empty Nests – WRMR Maturing Resorts (St. Helena, CA)

38M3T3, Simple Pleasures, Couples – WRRS Resort Suburbans (Idyllwild, CA)

43M3T3, Heartlanders, Couples – WRRS Resort Suburbans (Prescott. AZ)

High Country Eagles

27M2C2, Middleburg Managers, Couples – HCESC Satellite City-zens (Santa Fe, NM)

41M3C2, Sunset City Blues, Empty Nests – HCESC Satellite City-zens (Ukiah, CA)

Permanent Temporaries

21M2S3, Gray Power – PTIMM Interim Middle Managers (Laguna Hills, CA)

39M3S3, Domestic Duos – PTIMM Interim Middle Managers (Lakewood, CO)

46M3S4, Old Glories – PTSO Start Overs

49M3S4, American Classics – PTSO Start Overs (Surprise, AZ)

So what is so special about the 50s?

Gail Sheehy: “At 50, there is a new warmth and mellowing.

Friends become more important than ever; so does privacy.

Secondary interests that have been tapped earlier in life can, in middle and old age, blossom into a serious life work.

One of the great rewards of moving through the disassembling period to renewal is coming to approve of oneself ethically and morally and quite independently of other people’s standards and agenda … arrival at that final stage of adult development, in which one can give a blessing to one’s own life.”

Also during this time, a person is enjoying raising their children and participating in activities, that gives them a sense of purpose.”

Erskine.  I think it was the great subversive Tom Arnold who long ago quipped: “Kids – 10 seconds of joy, 30 years of misery.”

Obama. Look, hopefully every parent feels the way I do about my daughters, but I think they are spectacular. pg. 175

Now, unfortunately, they’re hitting the age where they still love me but they think I’m completely boring, and so they’ll come in, pat me on the head, talk to me for ten minutes, and they they’re gone all weekend.

They break my heart.

Now I’ve got to start thinking, “Well, what’s going to replace the fun?” pg. 176

More Than Money Could Ever Buy

Erskine.  If you have children, you’ll have everything.

To see them grow, to flourish, to graduate college, is among the sweetest joys.

The feeling you get from raising children is something money could never buy.

Which is good, because you will no longer have any.

Yes, against the odds, I’d recommend having kids.

Maybe not four at once, like their mother did, but a bunch.

Children teach us humility, servitude and to give our lives to something greater than ourselves.

In return, they’ll occasionally curl up on the couch with you at night, then mention that you look really tired, and your neck is starting to look kind of saggy.

Still, have kids. Just don’t say you weren’t warned.”

Boomerang Millennials

Erskine.  “Anyway, three of our kids are now free upon the world, yet their mishaps still find me.

Traffic tickets.

Insurance claims.

College loans they can’t quite handle.

I always warned them to never grow up … no good can come of it.

 

Wear and Tear and Manopause

Is there a better description for what males go through, kinda like what women experience in their 50s?

Erskine wrote about “manopause” when fathers become grandfathers.

When if you keep score you notice that “Four Weddings and a Funeral” reverses.

Erskine. “Then at middle-age, an actual physical fade ensues, not to mention more hair in all the wrong places.

Is that manopause or a robust virility that even time can’t take away?

It’s all in your attitude, I guess, and your awareness of male wear and tear.

So, can you make your life count?

By the time you reach your fifties it’s up to you.

Part One:  She’s Leaving Home, Not Living Alone (Buy Buy)

Part Two:  Failing at Growing Up

Part Three:  Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage, or …

Part Four:  Crisis and Pivots for 28 -32 Year Olds

Part Five:  Making It – Ages 30 – 38

Part Six:  Authenticity Crisis for 35 – 45 Year Olds

Part Seven:  Renewal or Resignation in Your Mid-40s