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

[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.