You may find a description similar to how you spend what you earn and some lifestyle traits you’d have in common residents of neighborhood you should check out on a vacation.
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.
Let’s help you put together a travel itinerary.
Your goal is to plan two vacations, one for opposite seasons – winter and summer.
In the regions of your top bucket list destinations.
To sample the good, bad and ugly community factors.
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 by Ages
Not too long ago we stayed at the Hotel Santa Barbara on State Street.
We mingled with all twenty-somethings working in bars, restaurants and at our hotel.
We’re interested in three overlapping age groups, each with their own lifestyles.
20-29 year olds, the transitional 28 – 32 year olds overlapping with 25 -54 year old singles and couples out on the town of this beach resort in California.
20-Somethings
Students from University of California, Santa Barbara or Santa Barbara Community College living nearby in Goleta and Isla Vista.
Not only on the exclusive coast of California, but up in the mountain resorts you’ll find what Claritas originally called Striving Singles.
We’ve bumped into them in resort towns like Whitefish, Montana, Pagosa Springs and Durango, Colorado (before and after the Great Recession) working on the mountain, lakes and rivers and in bars and restaurants to support outdoor adventures.
20-29 Singles
The seven segments in Striving Singles make up the most downscale of the Younger Years class.
- Three High Country Eagles – two living on Small Town Borders (HCESB) and one as a Rural Cowboy (HCERC);
- Two Wireless Resorters – two Distant Exurbans (WRDE) and one Resort Suburbans (WRSS); and
- One Permanent Temporary lifestyle – Starting Overs (PTSO).
Based upon Claritas 2011 Statistics we know the number of households and income levels for comparison purposes:
- US Households: 12,665,698
- Median Household Income : $33,160
Claritas tells us that as a group what you have in common with these twentysomething singles is they can be found in:
“… in exurban towns and satellite cities, typically have low incomes—often under $25,000 a year—from service jobs or part-time work they take on while going to college.
Housing for this group consists of a mix of cheap apartment complexes, dormitories and mobile homes.
As consumers, the residents in these segments score high for outdoor sports, movies and music, fast food and inexpensive cars.”
Let’s take them in one by one in order of status and influence rankings from higher to lower by Claritas in 2011.
You may find a description similar to how you spend what you earn and some lifestyle traits you’d have in common residents of neighborhood you should check out on a vacation.
- Healdsburg, CA,
- Santa Cruz, CA,
- Dillon, CO,
- Eureka, CA,
- Park City, UT,
- Coeur d’Alene, ID, and
- Telluride, CO.
42Y3T3, Red, White & Blues, 20-29, Striving Singles, Middle America, WRRS Resort Suburbans, Wireless Resorters (Healdsburg, CA)
“2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,278,769 (1.09%)
- Median Household Income: $42,995
Resort Suburban (WRRS): “The residents in Red, White & Blues neighborhoods typically live in exurban towns rapidly morphing into bedroom suburbs.
Their streets feature new fast-food restaurants, and locals have recently celebrated the arrival of chains like Wal-Mart, Radio Shack and Payless Shoes.
Claritas provides sample Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Shopped at Lowe’s
- Went fishing
- Read Four Wheeler
- Watched Speed Channel
- Drove a Dodge Ram”
Do you feel your life is in transition? Next up is a similar lifestyle where others like you call home.
44Y3S4, New Beginnings, 20-29, Singles, Striving Singles, Suburbs, Inner Suburbs, PTSO Start Overs, Permanent Temporaries (Santa Cruz, CA)
“Filled with young, single adults, New Beginnings is a magnet for adults in transition.
Start Over (PTSO) : “Many of the residents are twentysomething singles and couples just starting out on their career paths who live in communities attractive to older neighbors who may be starting over after recent divorces or job losses. 
Ethnically diverse-with nearly half its residents Hispanic, Asian or African-American-New Beginnings households tend to have the modest living standards typical of transient apartment dwellers.”
2011 Statistics
- US Households: 1,837,994 (1.57%)
- Median Household Income: $31,226
Here are some examples from Claritas Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Shopped at Express
- Read comic books
- Read Vibe
- Watched Maury
- Owned a Kia Spectra”
So, what if you want to get away from the city and confining features of congested suburbs. You may work on a resort mountain, but you live in more remote communities.
45Y3T3, Blue Highways, 20-29 Striving Singles, Middle America HCERC Rural Cowboy, High Country Eagles (Dillon, CO)
Rural Cowboy (HCERC): “On maps, blue highways are often two-lane roads that wind through remote stretches of the American landscape.
Among lifestyles, Blue Highways is the standout for lower middle-class singles and couples who live in isolated towns and farmsteads. 
They like to hunt and fish, the women enjoy sewing and crafts, and everyone looks forward to going out to a country music concert.”
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,809,961 (1.55%)
- Median Household Income: $43,023
Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Shopped at Wal-Mart
- Owned satellite dish
- Read Guns & Ammo
- Watched auto racing
- Drove a Chevrolet Colorado“
Too remote? How about in and around college towns like Santa Barbara? But a little or a lot more affordable as you support your active lifestyle?
47Y3C3, City Startups, 20-29, Singles, Striving Singles, Micro-City Blues – HCESTB Small Town Borders, High Country Eagles (Eureka, CA)
Small Town Border (HCESTB): “In City Startups, young, multi-ethnic singles have settled in neighborhoods filled with cheap apartments and a commercial base of cafes, bars, laundromats and clubs that cater to twentysomethings. 
One of the youngest segments in America-with ten times as many college students as the national average-these neighborhoods feature low incomes and high concentrations of Hispanics and African-Americans.
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,525,847 (1.31%)
- Median Household Income: $23,777
Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Shopped at The Limited
- Attended college football games
- Read Spin
- Watched Game Show Network
- Drove a Suzuki Forenza”
Not ready to settle down for long? Decided to postpone or to skip college? But, long for a more rustic lifestyle?
48Y3T4, Young and Rustic, 20-29, Striving Singles, Rustic Living, WRDE Distant Exurbans, Wireless Resorters (Park City, UT)
Distant Exurban (WRDE): “Like the soap opera that inspired its nickname, Young & Rustic is composed of young, restless singles.
Unlike the glitzy soap denizens, however, these folks tend to be lower-income, high school-educated and living in tiny apartments in the nation’s towns.
With their service industry jobs and modest incomes, these folks still try to fashion fast-paced lifestyles centered on sports, cars and dating.
2011 Statistics
- US Households: 2,224,366 (1.90%)
- Median Household Income: $32,238
Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Ordered from Columbia House
- Bought science fiction books
- Read Car Craft
- Watched WWE Wrestling
- Owned a Dodge Ram Diesel“
Are you more inclined to change towns with the season? Snowboarding here, water rafting there?
53Y3C3, Mobility Blues, 20-29, Single, Striving Singles, Micro-City Blues – HCESTB Small Town Borders, High Country Eagles (Coeur d’Alene, ID)
Small Town Border (HCESTB): “Young singles and single parents make their way to Mobility Blues, a segment of working-class neighborhoods in America’s satellite cities. 
Racially mixed and under 25 years old, these transient Americans tend to have modest lifestyles due to their lower-income blue-collar jobs.
Surveys show they excel in going to movies, playing basketball and shooting pool.
2011 Statistics
- US Households: 1,522,347 (1.30%)
- Median HH Income: $29,419
Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Shopped at Circuit City
- Went whitewater rafting
- Read WWE Magazine
- Watched Telemundo
- Drove a Hundai Tiburon”
Tourists may come and go with the season, but if your love of rural living isn’t a fad, then you might feel closer to other self-reliant neighbors.
56Y3T4, Crossroads Villagers, 20-29 Striving Single, Rustic Living, WRDE Distant Exurbans, Wireless Resorters (Telluride, CO)
Distant Exurban (WRDE): “Residents are high school-educated, with lower-middle incomes and modest housing; one-quarter live in mobile homes.
With a population of middle-aged, blue-collar couples and families, Crossroads Villagers is a classic rural lifestyle.
And there’s an air of self-reliance in these households as Crossroads Villagers help put food on the table through fishing, gardening and hunting.
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 2,466,414 (2.11%)
- Median Household Income: $32,084
Lifestyle & Media Traits. They:
- Shopped at Wal-Mart Pharmacy
- Owned a motor home
- Read Motorcyclist
- Watched The Jerry Springer Show
- Owned a Chevrolet Aveo“
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?
Part Two: Which 20-44 Year Old Family Lifestyles Fits You?
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?