Indicators

HOUSE PRICES Housing costs across the U.S. have risen an average of 6.4% in the past year. New England leads the nation with an increase of almost 10%

Increase in single-family home prices (fourth quarter 1998 - fourth quarter 1999)

Pacific 6% Mountain 5.7% West North Central 8.9% West South Central 5.7% East North Central 6.9% East South Central 4.5% Middle Atlantic 5.8% South Atlantic 5.7% New England 9.7%

Source: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight

THE INTERNET It's changing the way we communicate and entertain ourselves

Percentage who say these activities have been at least partly replaced by the Internet

WRITING LETTERS (ON PAPER) 64% LONG DISTANCE CALLS 46% WATCHING TELEVISION 43% NEWSPAPERS 24% MAGAZINES 21% LOCAL CALLS 21% BOOKS 19% MOVIES 10%

A BETTER WORKPLACE Forty-four percent of workers want a new job. But those resigned to the old one say amenities like an espresso machine or more nap time would help

What perks would you like at work?

FLEX HOURS 67% CASUAL DRESS 56% UNLIMITED INTERNET ACCESS 51% TELECOMMUTING 43% NAP TIME 28% MASSAGE 25% DAY CARE 24% ESPRESSO 23% PETS* 11%

*Bring pets to work. From an online survey of 1,312 individuals conducted by SurveySite for CareerPath.com

YOUR INVESTMENTS As the stock market gyrates, we're paying closer attention to our portfolios

How frequently do you check?

Every day 23% Every week or so 28% About once a month 29% A couple of times a year 14% Don't really track portfolio 6%

From interviews of 1,001 adult investors with annual household incomes of $75,000+. Conducted by Harris Interactive for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

CHILD CARE Working moms have made families more reliant on outside help

No. of hours spent by children under 5 in nonparental care

35 or more hours: 41% 15-34 hours: 25% 1-14 hours 16% None: 18%

Source: Urban Institute calculations from the 1997 National Survey of American Families' sampling of 44,000 households with working mothers

OUR DAYDREAMS We're pressed for time and money, but Americans still have their secret passions

What would you like to do?

Travel to exotic regions of the world 52% Own a business 25% Learn a new language 23% Go back to school 21% Learn to play a musical instrument 18% Buy a motorcycle or sports car 15%

From interviews of 2,000 adults conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide Inc. for Hearst Magazines