Who marketers say we are...

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

The Atlantic has an article about what data marketers collate by ZIP code. Here's what it says about 02144:


We're affluent, well-educated singles and partner couples who love life in the big city and hold professional positions in business, finance, legal, computer, and entertainment. Most of us don't own a home or a vehicle; we rent apartments close to amenities, and either work from home or walk, bike, and take public transportation to get around. We're cultivating our nest-eggs instead of feathering our nests, investing in mutual funds and contributing to our retirement plans. Physical fitness is a priority, so we exercise regularly, pay attention to nutrition, and buy organic food at high-end grocers. Regular expenses include nice clothes, traveling, and treating ourselves to lattes at Starbucks or treatments at spas. Laptops, cell phones, and iPads are always on so we can stay connected. Leisure time is filled with visiting art galleries and museums; attending the theater, opera, and rock concerts; reading books and newspapers electronically; and going to bars and clubs.

http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/ziptapestry

Comments

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Interesting how accurate that seems.

I wonder about the high-end groceries. Does Porter Star count? Or should Whole Foods consider opening yet another location, somewhere even closer to Davis?

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

The more subtle problem with this is that increasingly, Americans live among people who are very much like them. (In the past, it was common for people to sort by ethnicity, so different types of, say, Italian-Americans lived cheek-by-jowl.) The problem with that is that one hears a very narrow range of opinions on most subjects -- everyone you know has exactly the same political interests as you do.

[avjudge]

To be fair, Esri claims only 45% of 02144ers meet this description ("Laptops and Lattes") whereas next door in 02145 we're 75% "Trendsetters" (as is 63% of 02143).

But when you read the other top-three categories (Trendsetters & Metro Renters) for Davis you realize they're pretty similar, so it really does support your point.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

What percentage of the news and opinions you hear about the world, come from people who live within, I dunno let's say a 5 block radius, of you?

I ask because I have often felt that I was somewhat unusually in this area in that I stop and talk with my neighbors-- people I would otherwise not know at all from any social, professional, or community organizations-- just because they live near me. More often I hear people talk about how nobody knows their neighbors anymore, so it's new for me to see the idea that our echo chambers have to do with our neighborhoods.

I live just a few blocks outside of Davis and (now that surrealestate moved away), there are maybe three people within a five-block radius of me with whom I have any contact other than greeting and saying "Hello, your garden looks great today! Crazy weather, eh? How's your niece's new job?" And when I stop and have that conversation with the person I have nothing else in common with other than being on the same street, I feel like I'm doing an almost radical act of actually chatting with my neighbors and knowing about the niece. We've mostly avoided topics of politics, though, probably because we sense we would not share similar views. I put out lawn signs sometimes for elections, and they are not all the same down my block. We don't talk about that.

I'm not denying the powerful existence of news and opinion bubbles, but unless you're home-bound and without radio, television, or internet, I don't agree that the walls of these bubbles have as much to do with neighborhood demographics. That said, I like living here because when I visit people in other areas, I see daily queerphobia played out on the streets, and I choose not to live in a place where that happens, so I do agree that there is definitely a degree in which, my neighborhood reflects my values and I think that's a good thing.

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

I tried the experiment with the zip code I grew up in, and it was remarkably correct about that one, too. They have a pretty good handle on the data, I think.

Unfortunately, in the place I currently live (a different zip code than Davis), they have things pretty wrong. I think neighborhoods in transition don't fit their data.

[smammy]

What's a "partner couple"? Is it different from a regular couple? Is it some kind of demographic jargon?

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I was wondering that myself. At first I was guessing that it meant that when people fill out census forms they write "partner" instead of "spouse" or "family," but thinking on it more, I could imagine "partner couple" would be a wider umbrella term that covered spouses and people who call themselves partners, and other pair-bondings, which for broad-brush marketing purposes might be considered equivalent.

[mem-winterhill.livejournal.com]

Dunno if there is an official definition. But that is interesting.

I split a 2-family house and mortgage with an old friend from college. One time we looked at the credit reports (during one round of the refinancings...we eventually got down to 2.6%! Woot!). I was designated as "Mrs. Housemate" and Mary Housemate in the possible aliases section (to my feminist horror). We are nothing of the sort. But there's no way to indicate that on the traditional form structures.

And I was reading something recently about this sort of demographic increasing. Maybe some of that is catching up.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Well, or maybe just married without children in a nuclear family.