Hastings Lifestyle & Demographics

Urban Spice
Young multi-ethnic lower-middle-class singles

A collection of immigrant gateway communities, Urban Spice is the urban home for a mixed populace of blacks, Arabs and immigrants from Asia, Europe and Latin America. With nearly half of the singles and foreign born, this cluster is a mecca for educated, first-generation Canadians striving for middle-class status in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Many of the residents of Urban Spice live in older, garden-style apartments - half of all dwellings were built before 1960 - along streets lined with mom-and-pop shops, fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. The typically close quarters encourages residents to gather instead at health clubs, art galleries, basketball courts, soccer fields and music clubs. And they take an active interest in community, ranking highest among all clusters in working for a political party or candidate.

Lower-Middle $44,248
Young
Ethnic Presence: High (Mixed)

With a relatively high education profile- -a quarter hold university degrees- -the residents of Urban Spice have varied media tastes. They watch a lot of TV shows featuring music fashion and sports, and they read hundreds of magazines at above-average rates, including locally-based titles like NOW and Vancouver Magazine. There's hardly a kind of cuisine that doesn't have an audience in this cultural stew, be it health foods, gourmet ethnic cuisine or junk food. Although their incomes are relatively modest, these young strivers still like to be early adopters of fashion and technology. More residents in Urban Spice take public transportation than drive a car, but owning a European luxury car is a coveted symbol of status.

How they think
Urban Spice is a diverse cluster, but its values are remarkably coherent in their flexible, postmodern flavor and their idealistic outlook. These Canadians register a great Openness Toward Others, perhaps in part because they believe strongly in Introspection and Empathy. While it is not uncommon for new immigrants to wish to display success in their new country ostentatiously (for a generation or two), these young Canadians are more interested in achieving Fulfillment Through Work. Although they are weak on Adaptability to Complexity, they are already handling plenty of complexity and showing values that betray little fear or hostility. Strong on Flexible Definition of Family, Equality of the Sexes and Primacy of Environmental Protection, Urban Spice residents celebrate equality and autonomy, and even have attention to spare for the planet. Finally, this cluster scores high on Belonging to the Global Village; this trend may represent an attachment to a nation of origin, but given the broad-minded values of this cluster, it is as likely to signify an openness to and interest in the whole world-not just the parts most familiar to these thoughtful young Canadians.

Attitudes
"Other cultures have a lot to teach us"
"I tend to be the first to own new electronic products"
"It is very important for me to feel creative"
"I enjoy entertaining"
"The use of marijuana should be legalized in Canada"

Single City Renters
Young apartment-dwelling urban singles and couples

With 97 percent of residents renting apartments, Single City Renters is known as a transient world for young, somewhat ethnically diverse singles, common-law couples and single parents. In these downscale neighbourhoods located in smaller cities, residents lead modest lifestyles in a mix of high- and low-rise apartments. Because money is tight - the average household income is $33,000 - they entertain themselves by playing video games, watching a lot of TV movies and sitcoms, listening to multicultural radio and reading books. When they do go out, they head for motorcycle shows, rock concerts and bars; cluster consumers admit to drinking a remarkable 13 to 24 beers each week. And though their housing is anything but plush, you see their aspirations in their constant search for home decorating ideas offered in such favourite magazines as Style At Home and Homemakers.

Downscale $32,732
Young
Ethnic Presence: Low

Young and mobile, three quarters of Single City Renters have moved into their neighborhoods in the past five years. But their average level of educational achievement belies their modest incomes; half have gone to college or university. These young, tech savvy consumers go online for books, CDs and job postings. They like to gather with friends to play soccer, go mountain biking or take yoga classes. But Single City Renters can be a financially challenging lifestyle, and residents worry that they'll lack the money to live comfortably in the future.

How they think
The young residents of Single City Renters are essentially modern in their values. Strong on Rejection of Authority and Need for Autonomy, these young Canadians want the freedom to make their own choices. They also have a strong idealistic streak: they believe in the Equality of the Sexes, do their best to practice Ethical Consumerism and believe people should have the freedom to live as they choose, especially in the home (Flexible definition of Family). All this said, members of this youthful cluster don't feel entirely confident in their ability to navigate the world: it is among the weakest clusters on Adaptability to Complexity, and its high score on Anomie suggests that Single City Renters residents feel somewhat disconnected from society (despite their Openness Toward Others). This cluster may yet turn its autonomy and idealism into career success, but for now it is tentative and unsure.

Attitudes
"I am good at fixing mechanical things" "It is important that people admire the things that I own" "I look at specials in newspaper inserts" "I love to look at household decorating ideas" "I wait until the price comes down before buying electronics"

Park Bench Seniors
Downscale seniors in urban high-rises

With half of all its residents over 65 years old, Park Bench Seniors is Canada's oldest lifestyle. These downscale retirees tend to live in older, seniors-oriented high-rise apartment buildings - half were built before 1975 - and typically get by on modest pensions. Because most folks here never made it beyond high school and spent their working lives at blue-collar jobs, their lifestyles are unpretentious. Residents pursue home-based leisure activities like knitting, crafts, gardening, reading travel magazines and watching television - especially American sitcoms and mysteries. But they also support the arts, occasionally going to art galleries and ballet performances. In this low-key leisure world, they concede that they rarely go out to restaurants and aren't too keen on entertaining at home, either.

Downscale $31,362
Mature
Ethnic Presence: Low

In Park Bench Seniors, with its disproportionate number of retirees and widows, lower-income residents have ratcheted down their lifestyles. When they shop, they're known as bargain-hunters who patronize stores such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Zellers, and Reitmans. And many are techno-phobic, rarely purchasing computer software, cell phones, cameras or DVD devices. They'll occasionally splurge on a trip-Britain, Mexico, and Las Vegas are popular destinations-but these seniors make do with more modest forms of entertainment. When they splurge, it is most likely on the latest toy for a grandchild.

How they think
Park Bench Seniors is a cluster with strongly held traditional values, not surprising given its status as the oldest cluster in Canada. Strong on three values that often appear together among older segments- Primacy of the Family, Religiosity and Community Involvement-these older Canadians believe in God, family (with dad as the boss) and an old-fashioned model of community. In their small towns, these Canadians don't encounter the kind of diversity that thrives in Canada's cities, and their Ethnic Intolerance reflects their fear of people unlike themselves. Ethnic intolerance is one aspect of these Canadians' generalized Aversion to Complexity in Life. Some of the complexities they find most troubling have to do with gender and sexuality in contemporary Canadian life: this cluster is among the weakest of all on Sexual Permissiveness and Flexible Definition of the Family.

Attitudes
"Young people have too much freedom and not enough discipline"
"I have not already taken steps to ensure that I have sufficient income for my retirement"
"The father of the family must be master in his own house"
"I would never buy products from a company that tested them on animals"
"I try to eat foods that are good for me"

> Read Archived News