Help me, LJ-obi-wan, you're my only hope.

[valis2]

I NEED YOUR HELP.

I apologize for posting this without a cut. I hope you'll bear with me. During April/May I will be traveling across the country, stopping at many cities along the way, trying to sell some wares. I am already biting my nails about this because it will be a serious drain on my resources and a huge amount of driving and hard work.

What do I need? How can you help? Well, if you could just give me a moment of your time...

Please look at this list of states/cities and, if you live in or near one of them, or have lived in or near any of them, if you could list some affluent cities/suburbs/towns within the area I would be incredibly grateful. How does this help me? Well, I am going to be attempting to arrange shows in the meeting rooms of hotels, and if I can schedule it in an area that is more receptive to spending money, then this would be a good thing. Specifically I am looking for areas with populations of affluent women aged 25-55. Don't worry, I'm not cold-calling or selling vacuums door to door or annoying people (much). And if you can suggest any areas to avoid that would be helpful too.

Ohio: Toledo, Columbus, Lancaster, Athens
West Virginia: Charleston, Oak Hill, Beckley, Princeton
Virginia: Wytheville
North Carolina: Winston-Salem, Hickory, Statesville, Morganton, Asheville
Tennessee: Knoxville, Harriman, Oak Ridge, Cookeville, Lebanon, Nashville, Clarksville
Kentucky: Hopkinsville, Nortonville
Indiana: Evansville, Vincennes, Terre Haute, Indianapolis
Illinois: Danville, Urbana, Champaign, Bloomington/Normal, Peoria, Chillicothe, Rochelle, De Kalb, Wheaton, Chicago
Iowa: Davenport, Iowa City, Newton, Des Moines, Osceola
Missouri: Bethany, St. Joseph, Kansas City
Kansas: Kansas City, Topeka, El Dorado, Wichita, Wellington
Oklahoma: Blackwell, Perry, Guthrie, Edmond, Oklahoma City, El Reno, Weatherford, Clinton, Elk City
Texas: Amarillo, Vega
New Mexico: Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Moriarty, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Grants, Gallup
Arizona: Chambers, Holbrook, Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams, Ash Fork, Kingman, Bullhead City
California: Apple Valley, San Bernandino, San Diego, Escondido, Santa Clarita, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Salinas, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Woodland, Redding, Yreka
Oregon: Medford, Roseburg, Cottage Grove, Eugene, Salem, Portland, Pendleton, La Grande, Baker
Washington: Longview, Chehalis, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Cle Elum, Yakima, Toppenish, Grandview, Richland, Kennewick
Idaho: Nampa, Boise, Mountain Home, Bliss, Rupert, Pocatello
Utah: Howell, Brigham City, Ogden, Layton, Bountiful, Salt Lake City, American Fork, Provo, Payson, Nephi, Scipio, Aurora, Richfield, Emery, Cisco
Colorado: Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Eagle, Vail, Frisco, Denver, Boulder, Loveland, Fort Collins
Wyoming: Cheyenne
Nebraska: Sidney, Ogallala, North Platte, Lexington, Kearney, Grand Island, Columbus, Norfolk
South Dakota: Freeman, Sioux Falls
Minnesota: Worthington, Jackson, Blue Earth, Albert Lea, Owatonna, Faribault, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Wisconsin: Eau Claire

I would appreciate your help tremendously. I make my living as a salesperson, and I'm used to taking a bit of a risk, but this is the riskiest thing I have ever done in my entire life, and I'm really hoping that I can plan it out well enough to make it worth that risk. If you would rather email me, then please go right ahead, email me at valis2 (at) livejournal (dot) com.

*giant hugs* Thank you so very much, flist of joy.

Comments

[mysduende.livejournal.com]

Ooooh a salesperson aye. Do you mind if I ask what it is you're selling?

I live around Oakland and San Francisco. The most affluent towns around Oakland would be: Piedmont and Montclair. Around SF would be San Rafael, Corte Medera, Burlingame. Further inland would be Orinda, Moraga, Danville and San Ramon.

Hope that helps. :)

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Wow, terrific! This was so quick, too!

Thank you so very much! This is totally awesome, and helps a lot. *hugs*

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I know this one! Or one of them, anyway! In the Toledo, Ohio area, you want Sylvania and Ottawa Hills...Ottawa Hills is the "old" money so that might not be exactly what you want, but it is still a desirable place to live. Sylvania is the yuppie capital of the Northwest Ohio world. I understand Perrysburg is getting there as well, and some parts of Maumee (like the downtown, right on the river parts) are wealthy. But I think Sylvania is still the best place to start. I was a poor kid in a rich town, which sucked...didn't have the right address, didn't have the right clothes or connections. Go take 'em for everything they own, and I'll be rooting for you. :)

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, fantastic! Thank you so very much, this is a tremendous help to me, honest! *hugs* *files away*

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Columbus - you want Dublin, first of all. There's also Upper Arlington and Worthington to round it out, and Hilliard is the up-and-coming area.

[dark-cygnet.livejournal.com]

Hey, Columbus is my hometown! And Chaosdancer is right, these are the places to be. I would also check out Polaris, which is down I-71, about half hour from Columbus and Easton, which is a big shopping area, i don't know if there are any hotels in that direction, though i'm sure there are.

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

And in Columbus, if you find yourself in Obetz or the Hilltop, stay in your car and keep driving unless you want your ass shot off by paranoid rednecks. :)

[valis2.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I'm rather attached to my ass, so I think I'll avoid those areas...*laughs even more*

[blackletter]

I used to live in Flagstaff, AZ and I visit friends there often. Overall, the town is pretty affluent, particularly the edges of town (countryclub on the east side and a prosperous downtown on the west). For all that it's a fairly small city, it's the biggest in northern AZ and would probably be a good place to stop. Kingman is the big up-and-coming town of Northern AZ so would also be a good place to stop. Williams has a fairly affluent population but isn't very big.

There is *nothing* in Ashfork. Holbrook and Winslow are also pretty dinky little towns.

Bullhead City is good. People travel there to vacation and gamble. (So they have money to get rid of.)

I've never heard of Chambers.

So I'd say Flagstaff and Kingman definitely good. Williams and Bullhead City pretty good. Ashfork, Holbrook and Winslow not so good. And Chambers *shrug*.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so very very very much! This is exactly the kind of specific information I was looking for. I really, really appreciate it! Thank you!

[luvboromir24601.livejournal.com]

Amarillo, Texas? No way! That's where I live! I can definitely tell you anything you need to know - I'll drop you an email in just a sec.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

You are so sweet!!

Wow, I hope we can get together...I'd love to meet you! I've never met a ringwraith in person, before. ;P

[aphrodeia.livejournal.com]

In the Columbus, OH area, shoot for the suburbs of Dublin, Worthington, and Upper Arlington.

Around the Twin Cities, MN area, look at Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park. Hubby also adds White Bear Lake to this list.

If you pass through Columbus, let me know. :D

[valis2.livejournal.com]

*smooch* *smooch* *smooch* This is terrific! Thank you so much!!

Seattle area

[sylvadin.livejournal.com]

Conclaves of the rich yuppies...

Downtown Seattle
Captial Hill
Mercer Island
Edmonds (maybe)
Bainbridge Island

Places where all those computer programmer millionaires reside - 'The East Side'
particularly

Bellevue
Redmond
Sammamish
Issaquah

The less affluent regions of Seattle (where all the honest working people who can barely make their mortgages live) - i.e. places to avoid

West Seattle
South Seattle including Renton, Kent
North Seattle including Lynnwood

What time of the year are you planning to take this road marathon?

Re: Seattle area

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, lovely! Thank you so much!!

I am planning on coming through during April/May. The Seattle area would probably be in the last week, honestly.

This is so very helpful! Thank you!

Wyoming

[sylvadin.livejournal.com]

Don't know much about Cheyenne per se, other than it's a college town

The most affluental area in Wyoming by far is Jackson Hole. It's the mountain and ski resort area where starter homes start at $1million +

Re: Wyoming

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, excellent! You're so incredibly helpful, thank you!

[cactus-wren.livejournal.com]

Gah! Of those places in Ohio, you just couldn't be coming to the Cleveland area, could you? lol. I'd love to be able to help you out, but I don't know those areas of Ohio - but if you come to Northeast Ohio, I'll not only help you, I'll take you out to dinner!

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Hee! You're so sweet!

I think I won't make it to Cleveland this year, sorry.

I will be doing a show in Cleveland sometime later this year, though, so I'll definitely take you up on that! Cleveland is a neat town. I love Cleveland Heights, and the "Little Italy" area is wonderful.

The eastern side of Washington State

[sylvadin.livejournal.com]

I might be mistaken but...

Toppenish
Yakima
Richland
Kennewick
Grandview

These are all towns where the main industry base is still agriculture. Median incomes fall in the low $50

Re: The eastern side of Washington State

[sylvadin.livejournal.com]

Correction of typo -

I meant to say low $50Ks

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Hey, there's Oregon.

Now, Oregon is a strange pickle. The most affluent suburbs with business hotels are not necessarily the best value for arranging meetings for business. Having said that...

Portland: Portland has an abudance of business hotels located in the downtown or Lloyd Center. There is also Lake Oswego,a very affleunt town next to Portland, that has business hotels along Kruse Way. Other ORegoinans will hate to hear it, but Portland is the largest metro area in the state, and really the center of the state's economic happenings. Most of the state's yuppies are here.

Cottage Grove: Nothing but farmers.

Salem: State Capital. A River City trying to find itself. Nothing doing there.

Medford: Now, we're talking. Rogue River Valley, and lots of sunshine. But, the happenings are in Ashland (home of the Shakespeare Festival) and JAskonville- all centered on the arts and outdoors. No yuppies; rather, people who have retired on tech money, faded movie stars, old hippies and very conservative ranchers.

Eugene- a growing city, know for progressive politics. There is some affluence- SPringfield-, but mostly in farming or medicine. There are hotels, but only one major business hotel, and that's small.

PEndleton: Home of the Round Up. Cowboys, cowbopys and more cowboys, with fruit and wheat farmers thrown in the mix.

LaGRande/Baker- Leave these places alone- mostly small rural areas. I would look to Bend, a rather sucessful small city that has excellent resort facilities and an affluent community.

Hope this helps!

[valis2.livejournal.com]

My goodness! This is incredible! What a great list. Thank you so very very much, this is exactly what I need, and a terrific help. *hugs*

And a few other notes...

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Illinois: Consider Urbana-Champaign one area- the university is there, along with start ups. Leave Peoria alone. Chicago has the Gold Coast, along with Evanston. Bloomington is all affluent.

Washington: Seattle- the Captil Hill section is very affluent- but so is Kirkland and Bellevue, two close in surburbs. Longview is a suburb of Vancouver WA and Portland, but not particularly affluent; I would try Vancouver itself. Yakima is nbot affluent in the least, nor arethe country town around it. Richland is a good city in of itself to try.

Re: And a few other notes...

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, excellent. Thank you so much! This is a great help.

[julian-black.livejournal.com]

sylvadin covered the Seattle area nicely.

So, California:

In San Diego area, I'd say Del Mar/Encinitas (where you could easily draw the affluent Rancho Santa Fe/Fairbanks Ranch crowd, as well as the McMansion-dwelling wannabes), Cardiff-by-the-Sea, and maybe Carlsbad. Avoid Santee/Lakeside, El Cajon, and anything south of Downtown. And Escondido isn't upscale, even if the housing prices are.

La Jolla is very upscale, but the demographic may be too old.

Avoid Apple Valley--I've driven through it, and it's a shitty little high-desert town.

You might want to try Pasadena, however--It's not just little old ladies.

Yreka and Redding aren't upscale. Any wealthy people will be farmers, who would rather spend money on new trucks. The same goes for most of the Central Valley and far-northern California.

Woodland was nothing but a little nothing town amid endless fields a decade ago, and now it's wall-to-wall tract-house hell. Don't bother.

Ashland, Oregon might be a good choice, though. Given the choice between Ashland and Medford, I'd pick Ashland.

Maybe Bend, Oregon, too. It's been thoroughly Californicated, and some of them have got to have money.

That's all the firsthand information my post-flu brain can manage to spit up, for now. But one resource you might find useful is Claritas' market segmentation site. You can enter a Zip code and they will provide you with a list of the demographic categories commonly found within that Zip code. They also have a listing of all marketing segments, so you can decide if you want to sell to the "Movers and Shakers," "Money and Brains," or "Big Fish, Small Pond," among others. To look up the Zip codes for a particular city, use the US Postal Service's website. It'll probably be a lot of work looking up a long list of places, but it could help you narrow down which towns or neighborhoods are most likely to be home to your prospective customers.

And if you come to Seattle, I've got an extra bed, and all the cats you can pet. I'll even change the sheets...

[julian-black.livejournal.com]

If I knew what you were selling, I might be able to mull over and refine my suggestions. Email me at julian_black@LJ, if you prefer.

Oh, and welcome back! And thanks for the card! I have a belated V-day bit of weirdness in the works for you, and now that I can breathe again I might just get it done...Yarrr.

[sneaky-rhae.livejournal.com]

New Mexico: Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Moriarty, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Grants, Gallup


Well, speakingas someone who pretty much grew up all over New Mexico/West Texas I thought I might help you out a bit.

Tucumcari: Not really affluent, just really a wide place on I-40. It is close enough to Amarillo that most people go there to shop so you probably would hit them up over there anyway, it really isn't worth your trouble.

Snata Rosa and Moriarity are about the same as Tucumcari, that's the thing about New Mexico really, if you aren't Santa Fe or Albuquerque, you're probably just a poor wide place in the road. You might do a little business in Santa Rosa, you could probably hit up the Tucumcari people there too and from what I remember the hotel rates aren't too bad.

I think you're best bets are Santa Fe and Albuquerque and the massive suburb of Albuquerque that is known as Rio Rancho. Rancho at least is booming and you could probably get away with doing two separate shows.

Gallup/Grants are near enough each other that you could probably just do one of them. They are much the same as Tucumcari and the like, just that they are right off the reservation.

You will probably see a lot of people from all over in Albuquerque, that is the weird thing about us out here, it takes forever to drive but we're willing to do it to shop.

Hope this helped.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, such wonderful help from an unknown (er, to me, at least) LJer! Thank you so very much for being so kind and helping out a strange girl. ;) I appreciate it very very much.

*does happy dance*

[florence-craye.livejournal.com]

I can give you some tips on the Nashville, TN area. Here are some nice high-earning potential neighborhoods.

Nashville Metro/Davidson County places:
Green Hills (has a mall, mixture of old and new money)
Belle Meade (Nashville society and old money here)

Williamson County (S of Davidson):
Cool Springs (has a mall)
Franklin
Brentwood
Note: Definitely try to hit these places, as they are full of the nouveau riche and new affluent subdivisions.

Sumner County (N of Metro):
Hendersonville

Rutherford County:
Murfreesboro (30-45 minutes from Nashville proper)

I am not sure about Clarksville, as that's a rather rundown military town. I think it's mostly military men and their wives, along with the college kids from Austin Peay. It's my least favorite city in the area. Murfreesboro is coming up in the world, and a lot of people are moving out there. I can't speak for any of the other TN cities, unfortunately.

Nashville has quite a few nice neighborhoods. If I think of any more that fit your criteria, I will let you know! :)

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, fantastic. This is exactly what I need. Thank you incredibly, incredibly much. I am so nervous about this trip, and having such informed opinions will help me tremendously. *hugs* Thank you so much!

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

It would be helpful to know what you're selling. Grin. I have lived in California and I would highly suggest San Jose, San Fransisco and Oakland. I do not know much about the southern part of the state and of the North I'd say that Sacramento is your best bet.

Colorado I lived here as well. I'd hit Denver and Boulder. Fort Collins and Boulder are college towns but boulder is great to visit and more money there for sure. skip Loveland. Eagle, Veil, Aspen, etc., those are touristy so I have no idea what they would be like based on what you are selling.

I have not lived in New Mexico but I absolutely love it there. Albuqurque which I can't spell worth anything is biggest. You could probably do well there. Santa Fe isn't bad either and great to visit. Skip Gallop for sure because it is a nothing town as far as money but is also great to visit. Big native american country and if you're into jewelry go pick some up while you're out there. The natives sell their own stuff in the main square thing in down town Santa Fe.

Have fun.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so very much! I really appreciate this, so very very much.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to jot this down. It really is a wonderful thing, and it warms my heart that so many people have helped me out. *hugs*

[mariannelee.livejournal.com]

Apple Valley, San Bernandino, San Diego, Escondido, Santa Clarita, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Salinas, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Woodland, Redding, Yreka

Okay, here are the ones I know for sure:

San Jose is an extremely affluent area, as is San Francisco. Oakland is not too bad a bet, but get a second opinion on that. Oakland itself is mostly some awful neighborhoods, but it has its better areas, and more importantly, some very rich neighborhoods in the surrounding county.

San Francisco's major tourist attraction -- the waterfront -- is not where most of the bigger hotels are, but it where most tourists with spending money go. Pier 39 is mostly shops of the kinds of things you would be selling, but you would probably have to pay through the nose to set up shop there even for a few days. On the other hand, if you are trying to draw locals, there are tons of nice places throughout the city.

I know San Jose the best, because I lived there over half my life, so if you want a particular hotel or convention center, let me know, and I might be able to let you know what the area is like.

The suburbs between SF and SJ are even more affluent, although less populated. I have no idea what the logic is in that regard, but if you let me know what you are looking for, I can try to help.

I live 30 miles from Woodland, and would have to say that it is not a large city, and I don't know what kind of attention you would attract. It is a nice town, but it doesn't even have a major hotel. Try motel. My guess is that unless you arrived during a festival of some sort, where they have an event out at the fairgrounds, you would not attract a lot of attention.

Sacramento I don't know so well. It is a sprawling city of mid-level affluence. There's plenty of people there, but if I were you, I would try to find some way to set up in the Old Town during the Jazz Festival. It's pretty much the town's biggest event. It is a metropolis, though. The eastern suburbs, as the geography rises into the foothills of the Sierras, get gradually more affluent, but less populated. Most of the civic center, with the large hotels, is concentrated around the state capital. The major shopping mall is near the fairgrounds. Yep, just one or two.

Redding is a very small city. It is way way up north and most of its traffic are tourists and people traveling I5 to Oregon.

I've never been to Yreka, but I do know that it is on the coast, small, and not a prosperous area.

Hope this helps. And if you come to Sac, you have to let me meet you. (If I dare.)

Marianne

[valis2.livejournal.com]

*hugs hugs* Oh, this is so helpful. California I have to do very carefully because I plan on spending extra time there; we have customers left over from an earlier rep there, and I really hope to do well.

I would love to meet you! I think it would be wonderful, though I warn you, I probably won't have much time, and it might be that we only have coffee. But it's always nice to see a face for the name!

Thank you so very much, sweetie. You are awesome.

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

I don't know what it is you're selling, but I wonder if if would be something that would go down well in Berea? We are the "craft capital of Kentucky" and handwork of all sorts is valued here. It's not super-affluent, but there are people here who aren't hurting at all. Would we be worth a side trip?

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I will only be driving through a teeny part of Kentucky...the very Western edge. I could not find Berea. Is it in the far Western edge?

[deepforestowl.livejournal.com]

Urbana Champaign is pretty much one city, they share a border

Normal is a college town

Peoria doesn't have much, but it is a larger rural city

Chillicothe is a spit wad

Rochelle is small as well

DeKalb is a county and is kind of far out there

Wheaton is good. I would also try Glen Ellyn (which is next to Wheaton) and Naperville. Both are very affluent burbs in the NW of Chicago. You might also consider going out to the Woodfield area in Elk Grove Village as that is the prime shopping district for the burbs, there are a lot of upscale stores and restaurants out by woodfield mall.

Chicago has the gold coast and evanston. Depends on what kind of crowd you want to cater to but the Northside is usually a good bet.

Wisconsin, Madison goes without saying.

Iowa, Davenport is ok, as is des moines and iowa city

Missouri, Columbia is a nice college town, over 100k people, Jeff City is the capital.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

You are awesome! *hugs* *hugs again* Thank you so very much, this is so helpful. *squee*

I'm so happy that you could help. I appreciate it so much!

West Virginia

[sylvadin.livejournal.com]

Would probably be slim pickings if you're looking for wealthy 25-55 year old females. West Virginia is not an affluent state.

Beckley - main industry is health care, particularly the V.A. (veterans) hospitals and coal mining. Lots of retired people residing there because of the low cost of living.

Charleston - might be the state capital but its industry base is chemical factories

Oak Hill - nothing much there except for coal mining

Princeton - A place where vacation drivers stop to get gas on their drive from the east coast down to Florida

You might have better luck concentrating your efforts in Virginia instead, particularly in the suburb communities of Washington, DC. At least the folks there have money.

Re: West Virginia

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I didn't word this well...I'm not really looking for wealthy, per se, simply women in that age group with a decent amount of "spending" money.

Thank you so much for helping! *hugs* This is very helpful. :)

[mortifyd.livejournal.com]

Phoenix. Specifically, Scottsdale, Chandler, Anthem and Paradise Valley are all affluent areas - also the "Biltmore" area of Phoenix proper - off the 51. Don't forget about Sun City - the minimum age to live there is 55, but it's not a shoddy area in terms of retirement income available to spend on goodies.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, how wonderful! Thank you so very much, I really really appreciate it! :)

And happy Pudge Day to you, btw. ;)

California

[subrosax.livejournal.com]

You need to take Apple Valley and San Bernardino right off your California list. Those places are absolute hellholes, true cultural wastelands if ever there were any. Sacramento also has wide swaths of skankiness, but it's not all bad. I can probably come up with some good suggestions for you. We'll chat later ;)

Re: California

[valis2.livejournal.com]

You are awesome, girl. Thank you so much! I really need to know these things, and y'all are so awesome.

PS: Love the icon.

[gypsyjolie.livejournal.com]

Madison has money in WI and Milwaukee hosts a few big bead shows a year. Both would be decent bets, I think. I'd also recommend St. Louis as it's a crafty city. Also Portland, OR. Amazing Saturday market that you can get a booth at, and a cool artsy city by itself.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I will be stopping at Madison, I think. :) Portland for certain. Haven't decided about St Louis.