location location

I'll be honest. Sometimes when I'm working from home I don't actually wear my work clothes. Sometimes at the weekends I get up late. Sometimes in the week I'm out until late in the evening and arrive back after staring in wonder at the stars. I don't always think this is predictable, but the scientists have derived profiles for just about every living area and the way that people carry on.

So I decided to have a tinker with one of these UK systems for doing demographic profiling, to see what it said about a couple of neighbourhoods. I typed in a postcode and it produced a complete vignette of a particular lifestyle.

These people enjoy a good lifestyle. Employment is largely in professional occupations, and many of the households in this type have both adults working. Car ownership is high, with two or more cars common. Models are likely to be large, new, company owned and relatively expensive. The home computer is a key item. They use it for careers and job planning, education and reference (for example, researching cars and holidays), home finance, buying gifts and making leisure bookings online. They lead an active lifestyle, enjoying walking, playing golf and going to the gym. These consumers enjoying drinking wine which they often buy by the case through mail order. They also enjoy eating out in restaurants on a regular basis.

So then I thought I'd try another one...And this is what I got.

These people live in urban areas, where large attractive houses have often been converted into flats. Whilst many do own their home, the proportion of rented accommodation is relatively high.

People in this type are very highly qualified; one in four have postgraduate and professional qualifications. They work in professional and senior managerial occupations, with many spending very long hours at work. As one of the highest earning types, they have relatively high disposable incomes.

In the winter, this type is the most likely to go skiing. They will then take at least one other holiday which is usually foreign and often far flung. When at home they take advantage of the range of theatre and arts available to them from living in the city. They also enjoy good food and wine, both at home and in restaurants.

They are interested in current affairs and are very likely to buy a daily paper, which they probably read as they commute to work. They usually choose from The Guardian, Independent, The Times and Financial Times. At the weekend they like The Sunday Times and Observer.

Wanna Play for your area?