WHO ARE WE?
The Green Acres lifestyle features country living and self-reliance. They are avid do-it-yourselfers, maintaining and remodeling their homes, with all the necessary power tools to accomplish the jobs. Gardening, especially growing vegetables, is also a priority, again with the right tools, tillers, tractors, and riding mowers. Outdoor living also features a variety of sports: hunting and fishing, motorcycling, hiking and camping, and even golf. Self-described conservatives, residents of Green Acres remain pessimistic about the near future yet are heavily invested in it.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
• Rural enclaves in metropolitan areas, primarily (not exclusively) older homes with acreage; new housing growth in the past 15 years.
• Single-family, owner-occupied housing, with a median value of $235,500.
• An older market, primarily married couples, most with no children.
SOCIOECONOMIC TRAITS
• Education: More than 60% are college educated.
• Unemployment is low at 3.8% (Index 70); labor force participation rate is high at 66.8% (Index 107).
• Income is derived not only from wages and salaries but also from self-employment (more than 13% of households), investments (27% of households), and increasingly, from retirement.
• They are cautious consumers with a focus on quality and durability.
• Comfortable with technology, more as a tool than a trend: banking or paying bills online is convenient; but the Internet is not viewed as entertainment.
• Economic outlook is professed as pessimistic, but consumers are comfortable with debt, primarily as home and auto loans, and investments.
