Those folks up the road aren't like us... or are they?

I’ve been very happy in Finsbury Park, but property prices

being what they are, my partner and I are about to make a move up the road to

Archway. I admit, though, I’ve been a little apprehensive about leaving this diverse

but friendly community and moving to an unfamiliar one.

So in the hope of setting my mind at ease, I’ve been playing

with the online ACORN

demographics service, to get an idea how the people who live around

my new home will differ from my current neighbours.

According to this service, the end of Tollington Park where

I currently live is inhabited by “educated urbanites.” These sorts of people

are typically aged between 20-29, support environmental charities, almost all

have university degrees and are 1.7 times more likely than the average person

to own a Mac. All of that was pretty much as I’d suspected, but given the area’s

upmarket atmosphere I was surprised to find that family income for this

demographic is typically under £30,000.

I then turned to my new address, near the top of the Holloway

Road. According to ACORN, this area is home to a group rather loosely described

as “multi-ethnic young”. On closer investigation I was pleased to find this referred

to a mix of people very similar to those I’m leaving. There’s a similar spread

of ages, residents are still likely to have a college degree and green interests

remain the charities of choice.

So why the different classification? Well, apparently this

demographic tends to have a much higher family income, often £50,000 and up. Though

there are some grand old buildings in Archway, as a whole it doesn’t exactly reek

of affluence, so this was almost as unexpected as the low incomes in Finsbury

Park.

But the most striking difference is that “multi-ethnic young”

– i.e. precisely the sort of people who apparently populate Archway – are a

stunning three times more likely than the average person to own a Mac.

Is it too late to call off the move?