Economy fuels taste for luxury

By ELIZABETH CREHAN

Essex County Newspapers

Raking in $50,000 incomes right out of college and their pick of nice jobs in the highly technical fields, young adults are finding themselves with money to play with.

Along with their growing paychecks are more expensive tastes.

"I'm finding that there are people coming in and buying larger, finer engagement rings than I saw in the late `80s and early `90s," said Jim Conley, owner of Conley's Goldsmiths and Silversmiths in Newburyport.

"In the last few years, I found that there seem to be more people coming in with more expendable incomes," he said. These are from the more highly technical jobs now available, such as Web designers or software engineers, Conley added.

Before working in retail jewelry, Conley said he used to work wholesale in Boston, and there learned that his target customers were women from about 35 to 50. Those were the people with the interest in jewelry, and the money to spend.

"And now it seems that there are more young men coming in and buying nice things," Conley said. He added that there aren't more men customers than women, but the number of young men has risen.

Travel agent Patricia Morgan, owner of Yankee Travel Bureau in Gloucester, has seen similar changes in her business.

"There's more money out there. I notice the difference in the age group, they're younger," she said. "They have more expendable incomes, and they're into the stock market."

More savvy, knowledgeable and adventurous young adults are traveling a lot these days, and the vacations they choose are telling.

"They don't mind handing out a lot of money, because they go to really nice places," said Morgan. "They don't even blink when I tell them how much it is. That's new, that's really new. They don't mind spending $200, $300 a night. It doesn't bother them."

She said they walk into her office more knowledgeable and they know what they want, and Morgan said they're easy to work with.

The kinds of trips this new generation of travelers are taking is veering away from the more typical, Morgan said.

People are choosing trips that are physically challenging _ mountain-climbing ventures in Nepal, biking across Europe, hiking, or skiing.

"They're more adventurous. They'll go to really far-out places," Morgan said.

For nearby trips, more and more people are arriving in style.

Typically during winter months, according to Peter Dunton, owner of Exclusive Limousine out of Hamilton and Danvers, the limo business gets a little dry.

"In the last two years, the last year, I haven't had a dead season," he said.

Business in fancy nights out to the theater or dinner has doubled. Trips to the airport have also doubled, Dunton said, particularly since people are travelling more, and parking is expensive.

Kevin Pulsifer, a house construction supervisor, said many of the high-end homes built by the business he works for, Erlbeck Design Associates in Manchester, are beginning to go to newer money.

"It is a younger crowd," he said.

And these houses, built by the company from the ground up, have all the comforts of modern life.

"They are full of all the latest electronics," Pulsifer said. One house recently built had a projection screen that came out of the ceiling. They have the latest lighting, and outlets for computers and other electronic home items.

Many houses have a lot of those "creature comforts," he said, such as the type of contraptions you'd find in the Sharper Image.

And of course, a huge draw for homeowners are the much coveted, and dearly paid for, spots on the coast.

"Everybody's trying to get that ocean view," said Pulsifer.

Despite the modern technical comforts showing up in homes now, he said people's tastes still go for the large windows, libraries and grand pianos.

"They really want the quality," said Pulsifer, adding as an example, "People are putting slate on their homes again." Slate roofs are more expensive but it's a "lifetime roof," he said.

While the technical features in new homes reflect the future, Pulsifer said that there is also a new trend that preserves the past.

"A lot of times people are finding old homes, finding pictures of old homes, and putting them back to the way they were," he said.

While the rapidly growing world of computer technology is creating more jobs and big-spenders, it hasn't meant a complete boon for luxury businesses.

Morgan said the number of travel agents at her business in Gloucester has dropped from seven to two. The reason? The Internet. People are planning trips and purchasing tickets on line.

Conley said he's found his business competing with the Internet as well.

"I have them coming in and comparing me to the Internet prices. It's not a good way to shop. I always believe that you should be able to be there, see it, or feel it, feel the quality," he said.