Kerrisdale Lifestyle & Demographics

Electric Avenues
Young upper-middle-class urban singles

Urban lifestyles typically attract young singles and couples, and Electric Avenues is no exception. These neighbourhoods - concentrated in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa-Hull and Montreal - are known as havens for university graduates who rent apartments (in low- and high-rise buildings), have white collar jobs and pursue yuppie lifestyles. While residents here have average household incomes, their spending power appears greater because so many are childless households. Like their younger cousins in Grads & Pads, they spend freely on entertainment, designer clothes and cultural events. But being more established, they devote more time to tracking their investments and less time patronizing the local nightclub. While no one would consider Electric Avenues residents conservative, they are less liberal in their outlook than Grads & Pads.

Upper-Middle $62,094
Young
Ethnic Presence: Low

Electric Avenues bring together a diverse mix of cultures in a vibrant city setting: apartment-dwelling singles from a dozen Asian and European countries all united by a youthful, educated sensibility. As Consumers, they're big on travel, books, health foods and yoga. And though supermarket surveys would seem to indicate they are starving-spending less than $50 weekly on groceries-they frequent all types of restaurants. Electric Avenues residents like nothing more than to meet friends at coffee bars, making it the top-ranked cluster for drinking cappuccino.

How they think
Electric Avenues is a cluster of autonomous, flexible and engaged Canadian youth. Electric Avenue residents' flexibility and openness to change is evident particularly in their orientation to matters of gender, sexuality, and family: this cluster is among the strongest on Flexible Definition of the Family, Gender Equality, and Sexual Permissiveness. Electric avenues residents question rules and received wisdom. They want the freedom to make their own decisions without deferring to the wishes of a boss, father, religious leader, or other authority figure: this cluster is strong on Control of Destiny and Adaptability to Complexity in Life. There is a dash of youthful thrill-seeking here, evident in the cluster's high scores on Penchant for Risk-Taking and Importance of Spontaneity in Daily Life. But these young Canadians find no thrill in showing others they're richer or better off; this cluster is among the weakest on the trends Ostentatious Consumption and Concern for Appearance.

Attitudes
"I am willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products"
"I am more independent than most people"
"I am interested in discovering more ways to improve my intuition"
"The use of marijuana should be legalized in Canada"

Daytrippers & Nightowls
Young lower-middle-class urban singles and couples

Daytrippers & Nightowls is a collection of city and suburban neighbourhoods where young, unattached Canadians live in sprawling, garden-style apartments. With a third of its household maintainers under 35 years old, the cluster caters to young, active lifestyles. A disproportionate number of residents spend their leisure time going to bars, rock concerts, coffee shops and dance clubs. The cluster's top sports include yoga, swimming, soccer and tennis. In Daytrippers & Nightowls, the dating-and-mating dance continues in full swing - matchmaking services and bridal shows are popular - and residents are sexually tolerant and open to diversity. Residents state that they enjoy meeting people from different cultures, which is appropriate given that one-quarter of their neighbours are immigrants.

Lower-Middle $41,096
Young
Ethnic Presence: Some (Chinese/SE Asian)

Their household incomes may be modest- -an average $41,000- -but Daytrippers and Nightowls residents are well-educated and pegged for advancement in their mix of white collar and service sector jobs. Yet they are less preoccupied than the trendier yuppies with designer clothes and cars. These laid-back singles will shop for clothes at both Zellers and Club Monaco, and they'll save their money for the latest rock concert or computer technology. Daytrippers and Nightowls residents spend a lot of time on the Internet, voraciously surfing to multiple sites for news, jobs, weather and entertainment. Ever practical, they rely on modern technologies to save them time at home.

How they think
Daytrippers and Nightowls is a modest but not entirely frugal cluster: weak on both Saving on Principle and Utilitarian Consumerism, these Canadians may be able to resist fancy clothes, but their Enthusiasm for Technology has them reaching for their wallets regularly. But man cannot live by gadgets alone: this is a young cluster on an active search for meaning. Interested in the Reprioritizing of Work and in undertaking a Search for Roots, Daytrippers and Nightowls residents are considering their place and purpose in the world. They are already strong on Introspection and Empathy and Openness Toward Others, and they express an interest in developing their Intuitive Potential and Personal Creativity. (Maybe the next yoga class will inspire them.) members of Daytrippers and Nightowls aren't as outward looking as some others-they aren't strong on many idealistic trends-but they have little patience for Ethnic Intolerance and are among the weakest clusters on Acceptance of Violence. These thoughtful tech-lovers are just trying to better themselves for now, but are being careful not to step on any toes along the way.

Attitudes
"I am willing to work at a boring job as long as the pay is good"
"Regular exercise is an important part of my life"
"I like activities which push my mental and physical limits"
"If they are equally qualified for a job, men and women should be paid the same salary"
"I love to meet people whose way of life derives from different culture"

Grey Pride
Midscale suburban apartment-dwelling seniors

The top-ranked cluster for retirees, Grey Pride represents a middle-class mix of over-60 singles, couples, widows and widowers living in urban- and suburban-fringe apartments. Getting by on comfortable fixed incomes, cluster residents maintain a relaxed lifestyle, sewing and gardening at home, and socializing with friends at the theatre and art gallery. But the chief form of entertainment is television, and residents are big fans of cultural programs on Bravo, sports championships and American sitcoms like "Ed" and "Becker." Concerned about aging - one in four residents is over 75 - this cluster's residents score high for buying prescription drugs, using cosmetics to help them feel younger and having a will.

Middle $48,990
Mature
Ethnic Presence: Low

Grey Pride residents have average educations an live in detached houses and apartment complexes built since the 1970s. Those who are still working have white collar and service jobs. Those who have retired, however, aren't shutins by any means. Grey Pride residents travel often to Europe, the Caribbean and Nevada, where they frequent the gambling tables in Las Vegas. Contrary to senior stereotypes, they strongly disagree with the statement "I would rather spend an evening at home than almost anything else." In values surveys, these activist elders rank high in the Social Values category of Openness Towards Others.

How they think
As they move into retirement, Grey Pride residents are increasingly attracted to simplicity and contemplation. They demonstrate an Aversion to Complexity in Life and want to use the time they once devoted to work to explore their links to the past (Search for Roots) and the relationships in their lives (Introspection and Empathy). Having come of age at a time when keeping up with the Joneses was an almost universal preoccupation; these Canadians still feel a Need for Status Recognition and an attraction to Ostentatious Consumption. In their Ethnic Tolerance and belief in the Importance of National Superiority, Grey Pride residents show that they are not entirely at ease in the mosaic Canada has become. But they are doing their best to keep up, as their Enthusiasm for Technology and Openness Toward Others show.

Attitudes
"I feel that violence is all around us and that we must constantly be on the lookout"
"I have already taken steps to ensure that I have sufficient income for retirement"
"It's unacceptable that an industrial society such as ours produces pollution"
"Governments do more harm than good"
"Overall there is too much immigration"

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