Laura Alix
Ask any one of us here at B&T – indeed, ask any newspaper reporter or editor – and we’ll tell you we get some interesting press releases. To put it mildly.
During that dead zone that the rest of the world calls “the holidays” and we in the newsroom call “just another workweek,” I received this tantalizing tidbit from Zillow, which I sadly cannot justify writing as a serious news item: “Donald Trump Voted Worst Celebrity Neighbor in 2015; Taylor Swift Named Most Desirable Neighbor for 2016.”
“Americans would most like to be neighbors with the singer-songwriter and pop sensation Taylor Swift in 2016, according to the ninth annual Zillow Celebrity Neighbor Survey. Republican presidential candidate and business mogul Donald Trump was named the least desirable neighbor of 2015.”
First of all, I did not know that Zillow measured the most and least desirable celebrity neighbors. Second of all, they’ve been doing this for nine years. Third of all, Zillow says that Tay-Tay was equally popular with women as she was with men, which leads me to believe that none of these guys have seen her video for “Blank Space.”
From the press release:
“2015 was a landmark year for Taylor Swift, from her highly successful 1989 World Tour, to being named the youngest female ever on Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women list – it’s no surprise America picked the down-to-earth singer-songwriter as 2016’s most desirable neighbor,” says Jeremy Wacksman, Zillow chief marketing officer. “Donald Trump, on the other hand, is frequently in the limelight for his polarizing comments and non-apologetic attitude, which some may see as unattractive qualities in a neighbor.”
I would note, too, that 7 percent of respondents ranked Donald Trump among the most desirable celebrity neighbors – potentially because he would at least put a fence between his house and yours, and according to fellow New Englander Robert Frost, good fences do make good neighbors. (On the other hand, Donald Trump would probably try to make you pay for said dividing fence, so … )
On the other hand, Swift reportedly angered her Rhode Island neighbors at this time two years ago with construction on the seawall at the bottom of her 5.23-acre property. It was later reported the project was necessary to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy, so perhaps Swift’s not such a bad neighbor after all.
One quick final note: 34 percent of Zillow’s respondents said they would not like to live next door to any of these celebrities – the highest percentage out of all responses. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about that.
