ONE of the things we all want to know when moving house is what will the neighbourhood really like?

If you are moving to a new town, or even just from one side of town to another, neighbourhoods can vary dramatically. One way you can try and find out is to try some of the online neighbourhood analysis sites, which try to give an indication of what towns up and down the country are like. But how accurate are they?

We asked one site to predict the type of person you might find in the BA14 postcode, which covers Trowbridge, and the SN12 postcode, which covers Chippenham. See what it said and if you agree www.upmystreet.com said of the BA14 area: "Often, many of the people who live in this sort of postcode will be older people living in flats. These are known as type 36in the ACORN classification and 2.13 per cent of the UK's population live in this type.

"An overview of the likely preferences and features of this neighbourhood says:

  • Family income: medium
  • Interest in current affairs: medium
  • Housing with mortgage: medium
  • Educated to degree level: medium
  • Couples with children: low
  • Have satellite TV: low

"This type of postcode has a distinctly older profile. There are fewer children than the national average and more people over 65. One third of households are pensioners. Single pensioner households are very common, with retired couples also present in high numbers.

"Educational qualifications tend to be slightly higher than the national average, especially at degree level. The working population in these areas tends to be in lower and senior managerial and professional occupations.

"There is a reasonable levels of car ownership, including company cars, but there are fewer households with more than one car.

"Income levels are broadly in line with the national average, with holdings of investment products (ISAs, unit trusts and stocks and shares) slightly above average. People are generally comfortably off without having large amounts of spare cash.

"Leisure interests include fine art and antiques, self-improvement and education, reading and walking. Membership of the National Trust is common. "The Daily Express, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph are likely to be the most popular newspapers."

In the SN14 postcode, area, the website says: "Many of the people who live in this sort of postcode will be wealthy working families with mortgages. These are known as type 2 in the ACORN classification and 1.3 per cent of the UK's population live in this type.

"An overview of the likely preferences and features of this neighbourhood are:

  • Family income: very high
  • Interest in current affairs: medium Housing with mortgage: very high
  • Educated to degree level: high
  • Couples with children: very high
  • Have satellite TV: very high

"These are affluent families, with school age children, enjoying a good lifestyle. "Employment is largely in senior managerial and professional occupations, and many of the households in this type have both adults working, living in large detached houses, usually with four or more bedrooms.

"Car ownership is high, with two or more cars common. Models are likely to be large, new, company owned and relatively expensive.

"These affluent families have high levels of savings, including ISAs, stocks and shares and unit trusts. They will use brokers for making their investments as well as buying direct, often using the internet.

They have good pension provision, either company or private, and most have private medical insurance. "The home computer is a key item for these families. They use it for careers and job planning, education and reference (for example, researching cars and holidays), home finance, buying gifts and making leisure bookings online.

"Popular newspapers are the Daily Telegraph and The Times, including their Sunday versions, as well as the Financial Times and Daily Mail. Readership of magazines such as Ideal Home and Marie Claire is also high.

"They lead an active lifestyle, enjoying walking, playing golf and going to the gym. They enjoy drinking wine, which they often buy by the case through mail order, and also enjoy eating out regularly."