Having recently left college dorms, they now live in apartment complexes surrounded by ball fields, health clubs, and casual-dining restaurants.
The steady rise of older, healthier Americans over the past decade has produced one important by-product: middle-class, home-owning suburbanites who are aging in place rather than moving to retirement communities.
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
Suburbs
Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM ranks suburbs as having a medium density, although they may in fact be surrounded by high density urban areas.
“Population density rises as you approach the city, and decreases as you move away from it.”
In 2011 roughly 23.4% of the population in the United States lived in the nation’s suburbs.
And Claritas / Nielsen PRIZM said:
“Suburbs have population density scores between 40 and 90, and are clearly dependent on urban areas or second cities.”
Should you include these Birds-of-a Feather (BOF) lifestyles on your Bucket List?
Permanent Temporaries, Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM) – Choose from a mix of 25-54 year old Mainstream Singles; 25-54 year old Mainstream Families; 30-44 year old Midlife Singles; 55+ year old Cautious Couples, or 55+ year old Classic 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.
“These five segments that comprise Middleburbs share a middle-class, suburban perspective, but there the similarity ends.
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 7,192,186
- Median Household Income : $50,281
“Two groups are filled with very young residents, two are filled with seniors and one is middle-aged.
In addition, S3 includes a mix of both, homeowners and renters as well as high school graduates and college alums.
With good jobs and money in their jeans, the members of Middleburbs tend to have plenty of discretionary income to visit nightclubs and casual-dining restaurants, shop at midscale department stores, buy dance and easy listening CDs by the dozen and travel across the U.S. and Canada”
Where in the West will you find those three lifestyles?
We’ve identified one in Arizona, two in California and one in Colorado:
- Tempe, AZ
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Laguna Hills, CA
- Lakewood, CO
Which of the following lifestyles best describes you?
22Y2S3, Young Influentials, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Tempe, AZ)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,712,614 (1.47%)
- Median Household Income: $49,182
Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM): “Once known as the home of the nation’s yuppies, Young Influentials reflects the fading glow of acquisitive yuppiedom.
Today, the segment is a common address for younger, middle-class singles and couples who are more preoccupied with balancing work and leisure pursuits.
Having recently left college dorms, they now live in apartment complexes surrounded by ball fields, health clubs, and casual-dining restaurants.
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Ordered from orbitz.com
- Attended NBA games
- Read Entrepreneur
- Watched Family Guy
- Drove a Subaru Outback”
36F3S3, Blue-Chip Blues, 25-54, Mainstream Families, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Santa Cruz, CA)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,458,594 (1.25%)
- Median Household Income: $50,667
Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM): Blue-Chip Blues is known as a comfortable lifestyle for young, sprawling families with well-paying blue-collar jobs.
Ethnically diverse-with a significant presence of Hispanics and African-Americans-the segment’s aging neighborhoods feature compact, modestly priced homes surrounded by commercial centers that cater to child-filled households
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Shopped at Marshalls
- Bought fashion dolls
- Read Baby Talk
- Watched Univision
- Drove a Mitsubishi Lancer”
30Y1S3, Suburban Sprawl, 30-44, Singles Midlife, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM Interim Middle Managers (none in knowledge bank)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,529,350 (1.31%)
- Median Household Income: $50,584
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″
21M2S3, Gray Power, 55+, Conservative Classics, Couples, Suburbs, Middleburbs, PTIMM, Interim Middle Managers, Permanent Temporaries (Laguna Hills, CA)
2011 Statistics:
- US Households: 1,093,066 (0.94%)
- Median Household Income: $52,784
Interim Middle Managers (PTIMM): “The steady rise of older, healthier Americans over the past decade has produced one important by-product: middle-class, home-owning suburbanites who are aging in place rather than moving to retirement communities.
Gray Power reflects this trend, a segment of older, midscale singles and couples who live in quiet comfort.
Lifestyle & Media Traits:
- Shopped at Ace Hardware
- Belonged to a veterans club
- Read Audubon
- Watched Masterpiece Theatre
- Drove a Buick Lucerne”
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.
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”
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?