In their placid towns and scenic bedroom communities, these Americans tend to be married, between the ages of 25 and 54, with or without children.
Typically in their fifties and sixties, these middle-class Americans pursue a kind of granola-and-grits lifestyle.
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
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 six Wireless Resorters household lifestyles. The first five live comfortable country lives, but are a little less affluent than the sixth. Here are the first five:
Wireless Resorters, Maturing Resorts (WRMR) – 25-54 year old Mainstream Singles, three 25-54 year old Mainstream Families and one 55+ year old Empty Nest 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.
The five segments in Country Comfort are filled with predominantly white, middle-class homeowners.
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 11,851,298
- Median Household Income : $55,843
“In their placid towns and scenic bedroom communities, these Americans tend to be married, between the ages of 25 and 54, with or without children.
They enjoy comfortable upscale lifestyles, exhibiting high indices for barbecuing, bar-hopping and playing golf as well as home-based activities such as gardening, woodworking and crafts.
Reflecting their rural, family environment, they prefer trucks, SUVs and mini-vans to cars.”
Where will you find those five lifestyles?
We’ve identified two in California, and one each in Colorado, Texas and Utah.
- Aspen, CO
- Park City, UT
- Truckee, CA
- New Braunfels, TX
- St. Helena, CA
Which of the following lifestyles best describes you?
23Y2T2, Greenbelt Sports, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Aspen, CO)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,560,639 (1.34%)
- Median Household Income: $57,334
Maturing Resorts (WRMR): “A segment of middle-class exurban couples, Greenbelt Sports is known for its active lifestyle.
Most of these middle-aged residents are married, college-educated and own new homes; about a third have children.
And few segments have higher rates for pursuing outdoor activities such as skiing, canoeing, backpacking, boating and mountain biking.
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Ordered from Lands’ End
- Gone horseback riding
- Read Modern Bride
- Watched Fox Sports Net
- Drove a Subaru Legacy“
33F3T2, Big Sky Families, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (Park City, UT)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 2,130,960 (1.82%)
- Median Household Income: $55,553
Maturing Resorts (WRMR): “Scattered in placid towns across the American heartland, Big Sky Families is a segment of young rural families who have turned high school educations and blue-collar jobs into busy, middle-class lifestyles.
Residents like to play baseball, basketball and volleyball, besides going fishing, hunting and horseback riding.
To entertain their sprawling families, they buy virtually every piece of sporting equipment on the market.
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Ordered from eBay.com
- Attended high school sports
- Read Field & Stream
- Watched X Games
- Drove a Chevrolet Silverado Diesel”
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.
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”
32F3T2, New Homesteaders, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (New Braunfels, TX)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 2,102,864
- Median Household Income: $56,181
Maturing Resorts (WRMR): “Young, middle-class families seeking to escape suburban sprawl find refuge in New Homesteaders, a collection of small rustic townships filled with new ranches and Cape Cods.
With decent-paying jobs in white-collar and service industries, these dual income couples have fashioned comfortable, child-centered lifestyles, their driveways filled with campers and powerboats, their family rooms with PlayStations and Game Boys.
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Shopped at Best Buy
- Bought toys
- Read American Baby
- Watched Cartoon Network
- Drove a Chevrolet Uplander Flex Fuel“
28M2T2, Traditional Times, Empty Nests, 55+, Couples, Conservative Classics, Country Comfort, WRMR Maturing Resorts, Wireless Resorters (St. Helena, CA)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 3,300,488 (2.82%)
- Median Household Income: $55,175
Maturing Resorts (WRMR): “Traditional Times is the kind of lifestyle where small-town couples nearing retirement are beginning to enjoy their first empty-nest years.
Typically in their fifties and sixties, these middle-class Americans pursue a kind of granola-and-grits lifestyle.
On their coffee tables are magazines with titles ranging from Country Living and Country Home to Gourmet and Forbes.
But they’re big travelers, especially in recreational vehicles and campers.
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Ordered from Gevalia Kaffe
- Traveled domestically by motor home
- Read AARP The Magazine
- Watched Antiques Roadshow
- Drove a Chevrolet Impala Flex Fuel”
Upscale Country Resorts
Should you include this Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyle on your Bucket List?
The sixth Wireless Resorter Lifestyle rounds out our Maturing Resorts bucket list:
Wireless Resorters, Maturing Resorts (WRMR) – 30-44 year old Midlife 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: 9,812,689
- Median Household Income : $82,323
“Widely scattered throughout the nation, Landed Gentry social group consist of wealthy Americans who migrated to the smaller boomtowns beyond the nation’s beltways.
Many of the households contain Boomer families and couples with college degrees, professional jobs—they’re twice as likely as average Americans to telecommute—and expansive homes
With their upscale incomes, they can afford to spend heavily on consumer electronics, wireless and computer technology, luxury cars, powerboats, books and magazines, children’s toys and exercise equipment.”
Where will you find this lifestyle?
We identified a university town northwest of Denver, Colorado.
- Boulder, CO
How well does this lifestyle describe you?
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.
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″
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?