Female Solo Dwellers: how women negotiate life course pathways in two urban contexts

(1)

Faculty of Social Sciences

Research Master’s in Urban Studies

Female Solo Dwellers:

How women negotiate life course pathways in two

urban contexts

Research Master’s Thesis June 18, 2020

Advisor: Dr. R. Ronald Student: Marcelite Silverman Student number: 12119237

(2)

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore how single women living alone are negotiating their single life courses in the urban contexts of Oslo and Amsterdam. It examines the mechanisms females living alone employ to facilitate their housing and lifestyle choices. It exposes how

heteronormative life trajectories, featuring aspects such as coupling and childbearing, impact the lives of these females. Lastly, this research highlights the urban traits that promote female autonomy in each city. By employing semi-ethnographic methods, this research emphasizes the participants' complex lived experiences through in-depth semi-structured interviews. While using grounded theory, the empirics analysis investigates how the rise of individualization affects how these women navigate their choice to live alone in an urban context, and what societal pressures facilitate or hinder their ability to live a self-autonomous life. The results show that theorists frame solo dwelling as a freeing choice; however, many participants feel this housing decision is their only option to be considered legitimate as they enter adulthood. This choice leads them to negotiate various other aspects of their life, such as romantic relationships, family formation, and social networks.

(3)

Introduction

In recent decades both Amsterdam and Oslo have become prime examples of the growth in single-person households in Northern European urban contexts. Since the middle of the 20th century, single-person households have become the most common housing demographic in both cities, following a pattern seen in many urban areas across the globe (Klinenberg, 2014; SSB.no; CBS.nl). This urban demographic transformation is linked to various social and cultural

phenomena leading to changes in life-course transitions among young adults. Current theory shows that these transitions are more drastic and more visible in young women's lives emerging into adulthood (Lesthaeghe, 2010; Klinenberg, 2014; Beck-Gernsheim, 2012). Women are experiencing "gains in education and massive incorporation into the paid labor force, to the right to control their domestic, sexual, and reproductive lives" (Klinenberg, 2014; p. 14). This

transition results in delayed marriage and children, new household and family formations, and an emphasis on education and career for many women. These new demographic changes have amplified societal importance on individualization and self-realization, resulting in increased autonomy for women (Lesthaeghe, 2010; Klinenberg, 2014; Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 1995). Women are moving away from traditional gender roles and have more choice and opportunity over the direction of their life course. The current theory on housing pathways (Mulder, 2003; Heath, 1999; Clapham, 2002) love and family formation (Giddens, 1992; Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 1995), and social networks (Bauman, 2013; Franklin 2009), all intertwine in the complex realities of single women living alone in these urban areas.

Current theory has generalized the experiences of female solo dwellers, framing that all women who live alone have similar lived realities. There is a shortage of in-depth qualitative research

(6)

that uncovers the complexities of women's lives in urban contexts. Current research lacks an intersectional lens and often excludes the lives of women from varying sexualities, classes, and races (Mulinari & Sandell 2009). Though this research resulted in predominantly middle-class and white participants, a large percentage of the participants from each city were LGBTQ+ women. By emphasizing and exploring more complex experiences, this research begins to uncover the novel ways women are embodying their autonomous reality and the tensions that arise when they challenge societal pressures. This research aims to uncover the everyday complexities of these women's lives and how these urban demographic changes influence their life-course aspirations in terms of housing pathways, love and family formation, and social networks.

This research study was conducted using semi-ethnographical methodologies to emphasize the complexities of these women's everyday urban realities. Specifically, using in-depth interviews to allow the voices of these women to be heard and to highlight the various experiences

exemplified in each city (Crawley, 2012; Rooke, 2016). The goal of this research project is to assist in furthering the development of current theory surrounding female urban solo dwellers; therefore, grounded theory methods were employed. Grounded theory emphasizes the empirics and allows the interviews to guide the analysis. This research focuses on middle-class single women living alone in Amsterdam and Oslo, between the ages of 25-35. Most of the respondents have completed University and are beginning their first stable career but have not found a long-term partner or had children. Focusing on this temporal moment highlights how these women are negotiating societal pressures and their life course decisions. This research employed an

(7)

participants. Using this app granted access to a large selection of single women living in each city, while also giving the women a feeling of agency and control in the process. In the end, 14 women from Oslo and ten women from Amsterdam were interviewed. These interviews were conducted with both heterosexual and LGBTQ+ women, emphasizing how often LGBTQ+ experiences are left out of the research. This project aims to highlight women of different

sexualities, showing how their lives coincide and differ from each other and, in turn, showing the areas that the current theory needs further development.

Through a comprehensive analysis of the interviews, key themes emerged that proved to be most prevalent in the lives of the female participants. In both urban contexts, housing pathways, love and family formation, and social networks materialized as the most important topics. It was not surprising to uncover these topics at the forefront of these women's lives, however, the nuanced ways each urban context influences the participants and the divergent realities that women in the LGBTQ+ community brought to light, brought up unexpected results. The empirical analysis uncovers the tensions these women experience trying to live up to what they feel society's expectations are for them to be self-autonomous women. This research aims to shed light on the complexities and varying realities of each city and each participant. These women perceive the city as a place where they can experiment and gain new opportunities. However, they also feel restricted by the perceived choices this individualized life offers.

The sections to follow will first be a theoretical section that sets the scene by focusing on case selection and relevant literature. Second, a methodology section will discuss the research design and data collection. Third, an extensive analysis and discussion with be conducted focusing on

(8)

the three key themes: housing pathways, love and family formation, and social network. Finally, a conclusion will summarize what has been uncovered in this project and generate suggestions for future research.

(9)

Part 1: Theoretical Framework

The research is a comparative case study focusing on the urban contexts of Oslo and Amsterdam. Both cases are capital cities of Northern European countries, with a population under one million inhabitants. They share many similarities, such as their liberal mentality on human rights issues and a few key differences. The sections below will outline the essential facts of each urban area that influence this comparative study.

1.1 Case Selection

The first case in this comparative research study is Oslo, Norway. Oslo is the capital of Norway and the largest urban area in the country. The city's population, as of 2013, is made up of over 52% of single-person households. Oslo also has the youngest population of any city in Norway, and over half of the residents are female (See Figure 1) (SSB.no). The second case is

Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam has similar demographics, being the capital of The Netherlands, with a high percentage of single-person households, over 50% as of 2019 (See Figure 2). The age group with the highest percentage of solo living in the city is between 25 and 35 (CBS.nl). Both Norway and The Netherlands have high rates of young people leaving the parental home early to study or work, supported by substantial welfare state regimes (Iacovou, 2010; Buchmann & Kriesi, 2011; Arundel & Ronald, 2016; Mulder, 2003). Due to the

demographics of each city, they are strong candidates for this comparative research project focusing on women aged 25-35 living alone in an urban context.

In Norway, homeownership is the most sought-after housing tenancy for young people emerging into adulthood. This pattern began during Norway's postwar period. One of its central housing

(10)

policy aims was to allow as many residents as possible to own their own home. Initially, this push towards homeownership was an attempt to take power away from landlords and spread ownership more evenly to the resident (Gulbrandsen, 2004).

Norway entered the new millennium with a total of about 2 million homes

accommodating 4.45 million inhabitants, and with about 80 percent of households owning a home. This very large element of private ownership in the Norwegian housing sector is to a large extent a product of public support in the form of low-interest state loans. (Gulbrandsen, 2004; p. 166)

This tradition of homeownership has now become a part of Norwegian culture.

According to the present Conservative dominated government's new strategy for the housing sector, home ownership is an entrenched part of the 'Norwegian national spirit' (KMD 2015, p. 1). In light of the price increases in recent decades, housing capital has become a source of economic security and freedom. (Bengtsson, 2017; p. 15)

However, these housing policies created some complications when homeowners started reselling low-cost housing for much higher prices.

Residents of Norway perceive the rental market as a "poverty trap," and government subsidies are heavily geared towards homeownership (Bengtsson, 2017). These housing policies and social ideologies have led many young Norwegian adults to believe that buying a home as soon as possible is the only way to have a secure future. Many banks offer individual savings accounts for people under 33 to begin saving for a home. They offer a reasonable interest rate, an 20% tax reduction, yet the person must have a taxable income to be eligible for the tax relief; therefore, many young adults cannot begin saving in this way until they obtain their first job (DND.no).

(11)

Due to this and the high housing prices, a large portion of the young adult population receiving assistance from their parents in order for them to own a home. Intergenerational wealth exchange is a common practice for families in Norway. "More than half of all young households receive direct transfers from parents (advancement of inheritance and other inter vivos gifts) in

connection with housing investment." (Halvorsen & Lindquist, 2017; p. 8). Parents giving their children money to purchase their first home, or letting their children inherit a family home, often occurs, leading to a large sector of the young adult population owning a home. "These

arrangements are ideologically justified by a discourse that constructs homeownership as the 'natural' type of tenure that everyone in her/his right mind should strive for." (Bengtsson, 2017; p. 2). Norwegian culture and homeownership are intertwined, and buying a home is the most logical step toward adulthood.

Many of Norway's emerging adults leave the parental home early to go to a city, such as Oslo, to study (Iacovou, 2010). At this point in their lives, most young adults are not yet able to own a home. Coinciding with high homeownership rates, Oslo has also made a great effort in putting resources into the social housing sector. By 1980, 45% of the housing stock in Oslo was that of cooperative housing (Bengtsson, 2017). Today, these cooperative housing units are prevalent, and many students inhabit these dwellings during their undergraduate tenure at University. Cooperatives are often the first step in the transition from leaving the parental home to living alone.

Amsterdam is also known for having a high percentage of social housing stock in the city (Ronald, 2013; Druta et al., 2019).

(12)

The city's housing market is characterised by a strong social housing sector, which still accounts for a large share of the housing stock (45.6% in 2014)…Nevertheless, its restructuring in the past two decades has meant both stricter income controls in

allocations and a marked reduction in the overall stock, mainly through the privatisation of units. (Druta et al., 2019; p. 4)

Traditionally, the social housing market has allowed young adults to leave the parental home early and have some form of independence and secure home. However, now, the social housing market has become more privatized, and the wait time for residents to get an offer is around 11 years. Most Dutch citizens sign up for the social housing waiting list when they are 18, in hopes of having a chance by the time they are 30. Nevertheless, culturally, leaving the parental home is seen as the first step towards adulthood and should be done as soon as possible. This pattern results in a decade of precarious living situations in a rental market that is overpriced, even for many middle-class residents (Druta et al., 2019).

Amsterdam rental prices have become so high that intergenerational giving is becoming a common trend as well. It is common for parents to loan money to their children to help with rent or mortgage. Parents can gift their children tax-exempt allowances up to 100,000 euros to finance a home purchase, as long as their child is between the ages of 18 and 40 (abnamro.nl). However, a critical cultural difference is that this money is seen as a loan (Druta et al., 2019). In Oslo, many young adults accept money in the form of a gift or inheritance, but in Amsterdam, this is not socially acceptable.

Overall there seems to be a greater commitment among young Dutch adults, compared to other young Europeans (Druta & Ronald, 2017; Druta & Ronald, 2018), in maintaining

(13)

the status of financial assistance for homeownership as a loan rather than a gift. Although borrowing money from parents was perceived as safer and without the usual pressure of mortgage debt, accepting direct gifts of money was not desirable. (Druta et al., 2019; p. 7)

Though they are borrowing money from their parents, it is specifically in the form of a loan which they will repay. Amsterdam's rental market is heavily geared towards single living. Government subsidies give rent allowance to those who are living alone and make under a specific salary (Belastingendinst.nl). Though the housing market may be beginning to shift towards homeownership, there are still substantial incentives for social and private rental markets to live alone.

The following section will discuss the theoretical frameworks that have influenced this research project. The primary focus will be on theories surrounding individualization, housing pathways, love, and social networks. It concludes with a section discussing how this research takes a feminist critique on many of these guiding theories and how this research will fill the gaps and further develop current theory.

1.2 Literature Review

1.2.1 Individualization

Modern ideas of individualization and self-autonomy coincide with relevant theoretical frameworks that have shaped this research study. Society's turn towards individualization has been taking place over many decades. Since the second half of the 20th century, there has been an increase in what Belgian sociologist Ron Lesthaeghe (2010) terms, the Second Demographic

(14)

Transition (SDT). This demographic transformation has resulted in new patterns of living, relationships, and long-term life goals. Societal changes in areas such as: sub-replacement fertility, a multitude of living arrangements, disconnection between marriage and procreation, no stationary population, immigration stabilizing population of Western countries, and an increase in the elderly population (Lesthaeghe, 2010). In many Western countries, expectations for young adults began to shift towards prioritizing education over marriage.

In contemporary Northern and Western Europe, welfare provisions still favor this earlier independence through sufficient student housing, scholarships, student transportation subsidies, youth unemployment benefits, and employment programs, and even

guaranteed minimum incomes for single persons older than 18 no longer living at home. (Lesthaeghe, 2010; p.223)

These demographic transitions of delayed marriage and children have been most influential in women's lives, giving them new life course opportunities.

German theorists Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim have also written extensively on modern individualization theories. According to Beck & Beck-Gernsheim (1995),

individualization has put things such as the nuclear family, community, and even religion on the back burner. They claim that creating a family is no longer a top priority; the individual is now the most important thing.

On the one hand, the closer we come to the present, the more traditional social relations, bonds, and beliefs…decline in importance. Whether extended family, village community, religion, rank, gender – affiliations and ties that once provided a stable framework – have meanwhile crumbled. The individual has gained freedoms, options, and choices unknown

(15)

before. He or she can and should, he or she may or must now decide for themselves, design their lives themselves. (Beck-Gernsheim, 2012; p.3)

Societal priorities no longer solely focus on reproducing and or providing for one's family. According to Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, the traditional structures that highlight the nuclear family have faded into the past. For the first time, people, especially women, are freed from their

traditional roles and can be autonomous and reflexive about their life choices. However, Beck & Beck-Gernsheim (1995; 2012) warn that as women gain more freedom and choices, the nuclear family structure is no longer attainable, placing the blame of the dismantling of traditional family structures entirely on the woman.

1.2.2 Solo Dwelling

One of the most critical developments to affect modern cities is the demographic increase of single persons living alone. The rise of solo dwellers over the past century has changed the built environment, economic development, and societal interactions in many urban contexts

(Klinenberg, 2014). Eric Klinenberg, an American sociologist, wrote one of the seminal texts on single living, Going Solo, and states, "…the number of people living alone is skyrocketing, having risen from about 153 million in 1996 to 202 million in 2006 – a 33 percent increase in a single decade" (2014; p. 10). Some of the highest rates of solo dwellers are among Scandinavian countries, such as Norway and Sweden, and "…by investing in each other's social welfare and affirming their bonds of mutual support, the Scandinavians have freed themselves to be on their own" (Klinenberg, 2014; p.10). In many Northern European countries, including Norway and The Netherlands, having more individual freedom and responsibility is seen as a positive step towards modernity. Klinenberg writes about the relationship between this demographic shift and

(16)

the urban context, yet he lacks the understanding and depth of how these two aspects truly interact with each other.

Klinenberg (2014) delves into the multi-faceted ways that this sudden increase in single living has begun to transform modern society and is revered as a "collective project of living alone" (2014, p. 20). He frames living alone as a choice, a positive step towards individualization and autonomy in today's rapidly urbanizing world. According to Klinenberg (2014), women make up the majority of this demographic change and benefit significantly from the increase of choices. By delaying marriage and family, and putting education and employment at the forefront of women's achievements, contemporary females have more authority over the course of their lives. Klinenberg claims that this choice to be self-autonomous is giving women more opportunities, allowing them to step away from traditional gender roles and choose the life they want, often leading them to live alone in urban contexts. However, the lived realities and societal nuances of this choice women are making to live alone are lacking from his text.

1.2.3 Housing Pathways

The theoretical frameworks laid out above intersect with the housing pathways of young adult women living alone in urban contexts. Housing scholar Clara Mulder (2003) describes that most urban dwellers follow a trajectory of going from the parental home to sharing, to living alone or cohabitating with a partner as they enter into adulthood. The phase between leaving the parental home and becoming an adult, where many young people choose to live in shared housing, is often referred to as emerging adulthood. There are various housing pathways emerging adults can take. Nevertheless, usually once they have chosen to own a home, live alone, or cohabitate

(17)

with a partner, they are considered to have entered adulthood (Arundel & Ronald, 2016; Mulder, 2003).

The increased choice for emerging adults to live alone is tied directly to the rise of

individualization. Traditional gender roles are disappearing, leading to many women having more diverse housing options as they focus on their education and career (Heath, 1999; Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 1995; Klinenberg, 2014). Theorists often considered women choosing to live alone as a transitional phase. The heteronormative idea of getting married and having children is assumed to be a woman's long-term goal (Heath, 1999). However, housing scholar, Sue Heath (1999), discusses the importance of not categorizing this housing choice as a phase, as it takes away from the experience of those who see it as a permanent choice.

Independent living is seen as merely a (usually brief) transitional phase, with little importance attached to the significance and meaning of non-familial living to those concerned. Not only is this a somewhat patronizing view of the definition of adult status, but it is also one that assumes the universal appeal of (heterosexual) family formation, and hence ignore the growing importance of non-familial living as an alternative to early cohabitation or marriage. It also ignores the extent to which young people are involved in straight or gay cross-household relationships. (Heath, 1999; p.553)

As the global trends move towards individualization, the nature of family and community is changing, leading to more people choosing to live alone. This shift alters the makeup of urban households drastically and, "it is estimated that by 2010 almost 40 percent of households will be made up of a single adult (Scase, 1999)" (Clapham, 2002; P. 60). Certain urban traits attract

(18)

young single dwellers. One person households generally have higher costs than those of a couple or family, which leads researchers to believe that urban singles are willing to pay higher prices for what the city offers. The high housing costs also show that most of the women who are living alone are most likely higher educated or from a higher social class with well-paying jobs, which allow them to afford this lifestyle (Tyvimaa & Kamruzzaman, 2019). As Heath describes, "young adults who live alone at this age are more likely than others to be drawn from the most privileged of family backgrounds and…are a relatively well-qualified group" (1999, p. 549).

The search for identity and belonging has a significant impact on the type of household people choose for themselves. Housing is no longer just a "means to an end" (Clapman, 2002), but it is a form of self-expression. It is critical for housing pathway research to step away from objective generalizations and begin taking into account the subjective experience involved in each person's pathway.

In other words, the research needs to employ ethnographic or biographic methods to understand the meaning of individuals and households and the conscious aspects of behavior. However, the unconscious meanings and actions also need to be explored bearing in mind the constraints and opportunities, which structure them and are

reproduced by them. The structural and unconscious elements of meanings and actions can be elucidated through the analysis of interactions. (Clapman, 2002; P. 66)

The interaction between structural powers such as government subsidies and intergenerational wealth interact with young adults' search for their identity, and it is crucial to understand this interaction in order to develop housing pathway research further.

(19)

1.2.4 Romantic Relationships

In the lives of solo dwellers, romantic and sexual relationships play a significant role in how they manifest their autonomous life choices. British sociologist Anthony Giddens (1992) is one of the leading theorists uncovering the ways romantic love has developed over time. According to Giddens (1992), before the 18th century, premodern marriage was not associated with passionate or romantic love. Marriage was a business arrangement where the husband provided for the women, and the wife would take care of the household and children. Marriage was centered around finding a partner that could give a sustainable life and not about finding a soulmate. Starting in the 18th century, the notions surrounding marriage shifted, and romantic love began to take form. "Romantic love introduced the idea of a narrative into an individual's life"

(Giddens, 1992, p.39). Relationships were now about finding a romantic partner to build a life with who understood and complimented what the other lacked. In Gidden's words, romantic love was “a potential avenue for controlling the future, as well as a form of psychological security (in principle) for those whose lives were touched by it" (1992, p.41). Romantic love put the idea of heterosexual marriage and a nuclear family as the main goals for couples of that era. Although this idea fostered the thought of a marriage based on love, there was no room for

non-heteronormative life choices.

Modern-day ideas of love have transformed into what Gidden's (1992) calls pure (or confluent) love. This new form of relationship states that pure love is only sustainable if both partners feel ultimately seen, heard, and understood. Pure love is a democratized and reflexive love. Both partners expect the same level of commitment and understanding from the other, and if one does

(20)

not fully meet these criteria, then the relationship is not worth sustaining (Giddens, 1992). Gidden's describes it as when,

a social relation is entered into for its own sake, for what can be derived by each person from a sustained association with another; and which is continued only insofar as it is thought by both parties to deliver enough satisfactions for each individual to stay within it. (1992, p.58)

This new type of relationship allows each individual to put forth their most authentic self, and if their partner does not accept it, they are better off on their own.

The idea of pure love coincides with both the rise of individualization and dating app culture in today's society. According to Giddens (1992), the only rewarding relationship is one of pure love. This type of relationship appears to be prosperous and healthy in many ways, yet it is also incredibly hard to find and maintain. Therefore, many women emerging into adulthood are opting to stay single instead of being in a relationship that does not fulfill their needs, focusing on their autonomy instead. However, this does not eliminate their desire for intimacy. As Beck & Beck-Gernsheim describe, "life as a single person generates a deep longing to love and be loved by somebody but at the same time makes it difficult or impossible to integrate this somebody into a life which is really 'one's own'" (1995, p. 145). The desire for intimacy while maintaining an autonomous life leads many young adults to use dating apps such as Tinder. Some for casual hookups, some to just to meet new people, and some to meet long term partners (Claxton & Manfred, 2013). Tinder is designed to be addictive, urging users to keep swiping because a new possible match is just one click away (David & Cambre, 2016). The dream of finding the perfect partner is problematic and often leads people not to see where a potential relationship could go

(21)

because there are so many other possibilities. "We wonder whether the notion of the intimate as a certain kind of closeness (and duration) has been discursively modulated and disturbed through the ubiquity, immediacy, and acceleration of connection provided by Tinder" (David & Cambre, 2016; p. 1). Due to the pressures of individualization, single women try to find the balance between wanting intimacy and autonomy. With more freedom and opportunity does not always come more stability.

1.2.5 Social and Digital Networks

Loneliness is a prevalent theme in the lives of many young adults living alone. Zygmunt

Bauman's (2013) theories on liquid modernity coincide with the reality of dealing with loneliness for many solo urban dwellers (Franklin, 2009; Franklin, 2012; Bauman, 2013). The idea of loneliness is a relatively new phenomenon, only emerging in the 1960s when a decline in community was seen in some social realms (Franklin, 2009). Bauman argues that in modern social relations, it is not that we have fewer social bonds, it is that these bonds are weaker and offer less support than in the past (Franklin, 2009).

The paradox at the center of Bauman's work is that the social bonds that can now be created (and even proliferate) are looser, weaker – and emotionally less satisfying, leaving loneliness as an endemic state affecting everyone, rather than a socially isolated minority. Ironically, the contemporary impulse is to avoid states of satisfaction in favour of permanent states of desire and in a way, loneliness can be defined as longing for an enduring bond, or perhaps even unconditional love. (Franklin, 2009; p.344)

(22)

With an increasingly individualized society, there is more pressure to be sustainable or self-fulfilled, creating weaker connections between other relationships. In this time of liquid

modernity, increased loneliness is often associated with increased self-autonomy.

According to Bauman (2013), technology has made our relationships more unstable and

disposable, both romantic and platonic. No longer do we need to meet anyone in person; we can maintain friendships and romantic relationships all via our mobile phones. This rise in

technology creates a paradox where we are expected to be always available to anyone and everyone. However, it is socially acceptable and natural to break off a connection at any point with no explanation (Franklin, 2009). It is important to note that studies have shown that men experience loneliness substantially more than women do (Franklin, 2009; Franklin et al., 2019).

Men tend to have fewer close persons in their primary social networks than women, and are more likely to nominate their spouse or partner as the person to whom they feel closest. In couple households, men are more likely to rely on the direct support of their partners and on the greater social network maintained by them. But if they separate or divorce, men's levels of social support return to the low levels experienced by their single counterparts. (Franklin, 2009; P. 349)

Though women also experience loneliness, they often have a more reliable support group of friends or family around them than men do. Finding this social network is vital for female solo dwellers to be fulfilled living alone.

(23)

1.2.6 Feminist Critique

The theoretical literature outlined above demonstrates a clear path showing how the demographic change of increased female solo dwellers in urban areas came to be and the underlying social impacts that shape their lives. However, many of these texts lack a deeper understanding of the structures that continue to influence the lives of these women. This research project aims to shine a critical light onto the theories that have dominated the conversation until this point,

emphasizing the elaborate everyday experience of women in two urban contexts in order to develop the current theoretical canon further.

The majority of housing pathway research conducted thus far, is done through a positivist lens. Most often, quantitative surveys are conducted to gather data on the types of households and pathways that people in urban contexts are experiencing. As scholar David Clapham (2002) explains, there is a need for more in-depth qualitative research to be done on this subject.

Housing choices are deeply rooted in the inhabitants' expression of identity and can shed light on how specific demographics are negotiating their realities. Keeping this discipline within the positivist realm is detrimental, and the research can be developed further by looking into the everyday decisions that affect people's housing choices. Looking at these topics through a qualitative lens brings new depth to the research and highlights gaps that are not evident in quantitative studies.

The rise of solo dwellers has been a prominent demographic shift in urban areas for the past few decades. Eric Klinenberg portrays this increase in solo dwellers as a positive choice for women. They have been granted more opportunities in their options for education, family, and career;

(24)

therefore, the single women living alone is a freed woman. Yet, is this truly a freeing choice? Some traditional patriarchal structures that have inhibited women for centuries are indeed

changing. However, this is predominantly for middle to upper-class women (Mulinari & Sandell, 2009), and individualization is often recreating old structures under the guise of choice

(Budgeon, 2015). Therefore, even though living alone in an urban context is a choice for these women, it is often the only choice that allows them to be taken seriously by society.

In the work of Giddens (1992) and Beck & Beck-Gernsheim (1995), heterosexual family formations are held up as the archetype. According to them, with the rise of the individualized woman comes the death of the nuclear family. Beck & Beck-Gernsheim question who will take over the caregiving role if the woman is no longer in the home. Giddens portrays pure love as a new democratic love, yet only through the lens of traditional heterosexual relationships (Mulinari & Sandell, 2009). Women are now supposed to be both autonomous and family-oriented. If a woman is not producing children, then they must be producing a career.

Patriarchal relations are unmade and superseded by constructing these new (?)

heterosexual relations as dramatically changing and as becoming democratic/equal. It could be argued that what Giddens and Beck are doing here is recreating women's and men's relations to each other within the framework of a new kind of patriarchy that is based on the actors' active denial of its existence. (Mullinari & Sandell, 2009; p. 503) According to feminist scholars Mullinari & Sandell (2009), there is still a lack of recognition for those women whose life choices fall outside of tradition. Those who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community are often left out of the discussion surrounding romantic relationships and family formations. The heteronormative expectations of femininity are engrained in Western society.

(25)

"Idealized femininity often obscures the intersectional social relations which constitute gender by misrepresenting white, middle-class, heterosexual and westernized femininity as the norm" (Budgeon, 2015; p. 309).

According to Bauman (2013), society has weaker social connections due in part to the rise of technology, yet nowhere is it discussed how online communities are a vital social network tool for many minority groups. Especially in the urban context, LGBTQ+ communities utilize online spaces to find supportive networks, creating strong social bonds. In previous research,

relationships (both romantic and platonic) and thoughts surrounding family formation for LGBTQ+ young adults, are not taken into account. It is imperative to uncover the different realities LGBTQ+ women embody various pressures of individualization and how it differs from their heterosexual counterparts in order to grasp a fuller understanding of this phenomenon. This normative feminization leaves out many queer, lower class, and minority realities. Though participants in this research resulted in a majority of cis-gender middle-class white females, a large portion identified within the LGBTQ+ community. These varying experiences show that not all women have the same choices, and not all women's choices have the same meaning or consequences.

As long as women's choices continue to be made under conditions of oppression and exploitation the reliability of individual choice as a guarantor of freedom is open to debate. Socio-structural conditions continue to limit choices available to many women and shape differential access to resources – economic, political, cultural, emotional – needed if they are to avail themselves of those on offer. (Budgeon, 2015; P. 308)

(26)

The following sections will discuss the comparative case study between Oslo and Amsterdam, focusing on single women living alone between the ages of 25-35. First, the research

methodologies and design will be outlined, highlighting the semi-ethnographic methods conducted in the research process and discussing the innovative data collection methods employed by the use of Tinder. Follow this, an extensive analysis of the empirics will be presented. After an exhaustive coding process, three main themes emerged: housing pathways, relationship and family formation, and social networks. The analysis and discussion surrounding these themes will uncover the nuanced and complex realities of the participants' lived

(27)

Part 2: Methodology

2.1 Main Research Question and Sub-questions

The main research question guiding this project is:

- How do single women living alone in different urban contexts negotiate single life courses? Sub-questions:

- What mechanisms do females living alone employ to facilitate their housing and lifestyle

choices?

- How do heteronormative life trajectories featuring coupling and childbearing impact the

lives of females living alone in cities?

- What urban traits and features promote female autonomy in the city?

2.2 Research Strategy and Design

This holistic comparative case study employs semi-ethnographic methods and focuses on in-depth interviews to show the complexities of the lives of the women involved in this study (Yin, 2009; Rooke, 2016). Applying qualitative research methods allows this project to engage with feminist methodologies and frameworks throughout the research process. Semi-ethnographic methods are inherently queer and feminist, giving context to the social world through in-depth interpretation (Crawley, 2012; Rooke, 2016). In contrast, quantitative methods often employ positivist data collection, turning the subjects into one-dimensional statistical figures, leaving out the informant's subjective experience. Semi-ethnographic methods allow for underrepresented experiences and voices to be heard, with greater importance put on the interviewee's everyday experience (Rooke, 2016). The methods used in this study, such as ethnography and

(28)

semi-structured interviews, give research participants more agency in the process and place greater relevance on the women's specific lived reality.

The use of in-depth semi-structured interviews uncovers the complexity of the women's everyday lives in each case study. Specific topics, outlined in the interview guide, were

discussed in all semi-structured interviews, yet also left room for unanticipated information from the participants to be added. Semi-structured interviews give the participant the freedom to share their own experience and guide the conversation while still staying within the constraints of the research questions (Bryman, 2012). A free listing exercise was conducted at the beginning of each interview to gain more insights into what topics and or themes were relevant to each participant. In order to not structure the interviews by my preconceived thoughts or questions, this exercise gave more room for the women's personal and complex experiences to be front and center during the interviews. At the beginning of the interview, I had each informant write down a list of positives and negatives about living alone. This exercise allowed the women to begin thinking about their experience and what topics were relevant and would then guide parts of our conversation later in the interview (See Figure 3)(Bernard, 2011).

Ethnographies typically require an open-ended research design and high involvement in the participants' lives for an extended period. "The task is to investigate some aspect of the lives of the people who are being studied, and this includes finding out how these people view the situations they face, how they regard one another, and also how they see themselves."

(Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007; p. 3). Often, in the beginning, it is unclear what the end goal of the ethnographic research is or which participants will become the main focus of the study.

(29)

Because of this, the methods used in this research project are only semi-ethnographic, in an attempt to "counter the tendency towards high abstraction and a reliance on theory" (Rooke, 2016) in traditional ethnography. At the beginning of the research, I put clear parameters

concerning participants, location, and length of the fieldwork. Yet, this project has ethnographic aims to produce an in-depth analysis of the lives of these women, and how they interact with their urban surroundings and each other. The fact that I, as the researcher, have lived the experience these women are currently in, is another aspect of this research that supports the semi-ethnographic approach. Autoethnography is a common aspect of ethnographic work that focuses on “fluidity, intersubjectivity and responsiveness to particularities” (Jones & Adams, 2016; p. 197). It carries both real insight and negative subject bias implications for the validity of the research (Jones & Adams, 2016). Even though this study is not a full ethnography, the

combination of in-depth interviews and the researcher's lived experience gives the project a more in-depth frame of reference. It grounds the analysis in lived experience (Rooke, 2016).

2.3 Qualitative Methods

Qualitative research methods were chosen for this research design to gather data on single women living alone between the ages of 25-35 in Amsterdam and Oslo. This unit of data was selected for several reasons. First, most homes in Amsterdam and Oslo are single-person households (SSB.no; CBS.nl). Second, this project focuses on single women due to the

significant demographic shifts in life course choices for women in recent decades, compared to other demographic groups. More women are pursuing higher education and delaying things such as marriage and children, which opens up many new life course pathways (Lesthaeghe, 2010, Klinenberg, 2014). Due to the rise of individualization, the time between the ages of 25-35 is a

(30)

dynamic period of life for middle-class single women, where many are finishing their education and are at the start of their career. This research delves deeper into the nuances of the choices these women are making in two urban contexts and how these choices compare to the theoretical standpoints that have been made thus far concerning the interacting of individualization, singles, and urban spaces (Lesthaeghe, 2010; Klinenberg, 2014; Giddens, 1992; Beck &

Beck-Gernsheim, 1995).

This research conducted a comparative case study design to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the lives of single women. A comparative case study is applicable in this project because it allows for an in-depth empirically driven investigation into a real-life

phenomenon in two different urban contexts (Yin, 2009). Due to the rise in single urban dwellers in both Amsterdam and Oslo, this comparative case study will produce a different look into how females living in one-person households negotiate their lives and how each urban context impacts their choices. How two different settings of everyday urban life influence the lives of one specific participant group will begin to be uncovered.

In the end, I interviewed 14 women from Oslo and 101_{women from Amsterdam. This number of} participants allows for a significant variation in response without reaching theoretical saturation. The majority of the respondents had finished University, and none had yet found a long-term partner or had children. The interviews lasted between 45 and 90 minutes, allowing for a full exploration of the interview guide. The interview guide provided a standard framing of questions and prompted a systematic transition through the topics I wanted to cover. At the same time,

(31)

interviews were conducted as naturally as possible, allowing the female informants the freedom to focus on, neglect, and sometimes lead the discussion towards the most important issues according to their experiences. The semi-structured interview format allowed for a multitude of experiences to shine through, while also touching on topics relevant to this specific project. This format also facilitated new data and new themes to emerge during each conversation, shaping the questions for interviews in the future. For privacy purposes, all of the names of the participants have been changed.

2.4 Data Collection Timeline

This research took place between January 2019 and April 2020. A pilot study was conducted in January 2019, as part of an urban lab apprenticeship, with Professor Richard Ronald, that focused on single women living alone in Amsterdam. A very similar research design was used for this pilot project, conducting in-depth interviews with seven women between the ages of 25-35. The main difference in the research design was that the interview participants were found not only using Tinder, but other dating apps, Facebook groups, and word of mouth/snowballing techniques. Therefore, the methodology could produce different results than the final research, yet this pilot project greatly influenced the research questions and research design of this thesis.

2.4.1 Oslo

Fieldwork was conducted in Oslo between August and December 2019. In August, I created a Tinder account and used the women-seeking women interface until the middle of October, obtaining six interviews from this group of participants. Then I switched the interface to be a woman seeking men until the middle of December, and I got eight interviews from this group.

(32)

All of the participants were originally from Norway except from one interviewee who was from Denmark.

2.4.2 Amsterdam

From February to April 2020, I conducted my fieldwork in Amsterdam. From the middle of February until the beginning of March, I was using the women seeking women interface on Tinder, obtaining three interviews from this group of participants. From the middle of March until the middle of April, I used the women seeking men interface, obtaining seven from this group of participants. In March, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Netherlands, making it impossible for me to conduct in-person interviews. The government introduced strict social distancing measures along with the closure of all non-essential businesses. Because of this, I did the interviews from this point forward via video calling. Inevitably, the nature of the interviews was altered, yet the core information and interaction were kept intact. Amsterdam's fieldwork period was shorter, but it was supplemented by the interviews I had done during the pilot project. There were 11 participants from The Netherlands, one from France, one from the USA, one from Taiwan, one from Belgium, one from Turkey, and one from Norway.

Throughout the interviewing process in Oslo and Amsterdam, I created a table with basic

information from all participants which allowed me to infer initial impressions from the results. I record information such as: age, occupation, neighborhood they live in, if they rent or own, years lived in specified city, where they are originally from, and how long they have lived alone. I continued to add columns as more patterns and relevant information began to arise after conducting several interviews. Columns such as: do they want children, have they studied

(33)

abroad, and do they have siblings with children. These topics and themes continued to emerge throughout the interviewing process, hinting that these factors could have effects on various pathways in the lives of these women. This table has served to be an incredibly helpful tool, allowing me to observe first hand impressions of how these participants interact between themselves and between the urban contexts (See Figure 42_).

2.5 Data Collection Methods

I approached participants in both cities through the popular dating app Tinder. In September 2012, Tinder was launched and quickly grew to become the most popular dating app around the world. In 2016 having 50 million users, 10 billion matches, and 1.4 billion swipes per day (LeFebvre, 2018). Hence, Tinder provided an innovative and efficient way to tap into the large number of singles living in each city. It is a cutting-edge strategy to connect with single women living in these urban contexts and gain insight into what dating culture is like in Amsterdam and Oslo. The app allows the user to put restrictions on their search categories, such as age, gender, and location, which proved to help narrow my research pool.

I created a profile that included a photograph of myself and a pleasant-looking café in

Amsterdam. The bio in my profile read: "I am a Research Masters student at the University of (respective city). My research is focusing on single women living alone in (respective city). I am conducting a research study and am looking for interview participants. If you are interested in participating, we can chat over a cup of coffee"3_{. If the participants swiped right on me, I}

2_{This is an abbreviated version of the table. It does not include all of the columns used during fieldwork.} 3_{During the COVID-19 quarantine, the months of March and April 2020, I added to the end of the bio: “for the}

(34)

messaged all of them: "Hey, thanks for matching! Would you be free sometime in the next couple of weeks to participate in an interview over coffee? I would greatly appreciate your help. Please let me know if you have any questions". From there, it was up to the women whether they wanted to respond or not. Most of the women who ended up responding were interested in participating, though not all of the conversations manifested into interviews. Many of the women asked for follow up information about the interview before agreeing. I told them what University I attended, what the focus of my thesis research was, and how long the interviews usually lasted. From there, we would discuss a date and time that worked for both of us. Some women would give me their phone number to communicate with, but not all.

Utilizing Tinder created a safe way to interact with single women in each city, giving them full control over whether they want to swipe right, and then if they're going to respond to my

message or not. From personal lived experience, I am aware that feeling safe and having control over an interaction is very important to women, often exchanges in person or via the internet can be unpleasant or dangerous. I wanted the women to have a sense of agency in our meeting process. Giving them this agency was a deliberate choice that coincides with other feminist methods chosen for this project (Plummer & Young, 2010; Rooke, 2016).

I chose Tinder as the primary platform for data collection not only for the convenience of having a large sample group, but also to tap into the relationship young people have with technology and social media in urban contexts today. In this style of urban qualitative research, it is vital to "pay attention to the way new communication technologies impact urban social life…in everyday life,

(35)

where there is a constant interaction between offline and online lives" (Jaffe & Koning, 2016; p.14).

It is important to note that Tinder has multiple interface options. For this research, I used both the interface for women seeking men and women seeking women. To gain participants from both sides of the platform, I had to make two different accounts. In previous singles research, there is a gap when it comes to women who are not heterosexual. It was important for this study to be more inclusive of women of many sexual preferences and uncover how this is a factor in the ways they negotiate their life course decisions. I used the Tinder account half of the time for women seeking women, and then for the other half, I used the account for women seeking men. The issue with this was that in order to switch accounts, I had to delete my previous account completely. Deleting the accounts made it so that I lost all contact with the women I was only messaging through Tinder, making it challenging to ask follow up questions. To save the

interactions, I took a screenshot of all of our conversations, the photographs that the women used in their profiles, and their bio.

2.6 Covid-19

I had intended fieldwork conditions in Oslo and Amsterdam to be comparable; yet, in reality there were differences in approach. During the fieldwork in Amsterdam, in March and April, the COVID-19 pandemic hit The Netherlands, making in-person interviews impossible. The

government-mandated that people should stay in their homes as much as possible, all bars and restaurants would be closed, and if you were outside, you had to keep a 1.5-meter distance between each person. Therefore, I began to do my interviews via video chat. These video

(36)

interviews had a role in mediating my interaction with participants but also gave insight into how these women are using technology in the time of the coronavirus. Participants spoke about having to work from home and filling their days with video calls from friends and family, pub quizzes, book clubs, all online now. It also gave a new perspective on what it means to live alone during a pandemic. The women spoke about feeling lonely and bored at times, but also less stressed than having to worry about infecting someone else in the home or dealing with an annoying roommate or partner. This new reality brought up different questions surrounding single urban living, which will be discussed later on.

2.7 Data Analysis: Grounded Theory

The data analysis conducted in this research takes inspiration from the concept of grounded theory. Grounded theory is a methodology developed by sociologists Glasser & Strauss to push the bounds of the existing theoretical canon and generate new ideas that coincide with the continually expanding realities of life. "Phenomena are not conceived of as static but as

continually changing in response to evolving conditions" (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; P.5). Glaser and Strauss originally conceived of grounded theory in 1967 to shift the sociological focus away from confirming theories and towards further theory development (Plummer & Young, 2010; Charmaz, 2012). Yet eventually, the two scientists begin to part ways in their approach. This project implements the Straussian method of grounded theory, allowing the researchers' prior knowledge of literature to shape and conduct the research (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; Heath & Cowley, 2004).

(37)

Grounded theory was transformed even further in the 1970s by feminist methodologies and literature. It showed how they share a,

set of common epistemological features, including valuing women's lived experiences as a legitimate source of knowledge, appreciating the influence of context in the production of knowledge, respecting the role of reflexivity in the research process, rejecting tradition subject-object dualisms, and attending to gender, power, and transformative social action. (Plummer & Young, 2010, p.307)

The use of grounded theory in this analysis, through a feminist methodological lens, allows for the data to show the complexities of the lives of these women within and between each urban context. This methodology fishes out inconsistencies and refines the current theory of what it means to be a single woman living in an urban setting.

I transcribed all interviews verbatim, using the Wreally transcription tool. Once all of the

transcriptions were complete, I coded them guided by the principles of grounded theory, moving from stages of open to selective coding. I followed the following coding steps:

1. Relevant text: read through the transcripts and highlight all portions of text that seem of any importance.

2. Repeating ideas: group ideas expressed by multiple participants will be the building blocks for the theoretical narrative.

3. Themes: implicit ideas or topics that a group of repeating ideas have in common.

4. Theoretical constructs: abstract concepts that organize a group of themes by fitting them into a theoretical framework.

(38)

5. Theoretical narrative: use theoretical constructs to organize subjective experiences into a coherent story (Auerbach, 2003; Charmaz, 2012).

I applied these coding steps initially to the positive and negative free coding lists that each of the participants wrote down. The results from these lists brought important repeating ideas and themes to light that would assist in guiding the coding for the interview transcriptions. After completing these coding steps for all interview transcriptions, three main themes emerged from the empirics: housing pathways, relationship and family formation, and social networks. Within these themes, three to four sub-themes emerged. The housing pathway sub-themes are: pathways to living alone, cultural notions of homeownership, the act of homemaking, and living in an urban context: structure vs. agency. The sub-themes for relationship and family formation are: heteronormative pressures on family formation, future romantic relationships, the decision to have children, and the rise of dating apps. And lastly, the sub-themes for social networks are: shifting social networks, the dichotomy of social media, and agency in loneliness.

This analytical approach does not merely uncover the overarching themes that encapsulate the lives of these women living in these urban contexts; it also sheds like on the variability within each setting. Allowing the empirics to speak for themselves supports the idea that these

theoretical canons cannot fully comprehend or convey the contradictions and gradations within the lives of these women (Rooke, 2016). The importance of this research project is to develop further the current theories on single women living alone in an urban context.

(39)

2.8 Ethical Considerations

From a feminist standpoint, it is crucial to be self-reflective as a researcher and acknowledge the influence my position has had on this study. The semi-ethnographic aspect of this project partly originates from the fact that I have the lived the experience of these women. I am a queer, single female between the age of 25-35 and have lived alone in both Amsterdam and Oslo. Having first-hand experience living alone in each of the cities gave me insight into how a woman in this specific category might move through the context of each space (Green & Thorogood, 2004). I can understand or ask follow-up questions on topics that researchers in other positions might not value as critical subjects. At the same time, this experience can also make me blind to certain aspects of the experience. Things that I find commonplace might instigate further questioning from a different researcher, gathering new insight on information I did not think worthy of following up. It is also important to acknowledge that I am a foreigner living in each of these cities. I do not have the same lived experience as a native Dutch or Norwegian woman; therefore, I only share some ex-pat participants' experiences.

Another aspect of this research design that may have caused some limitations is the use of Tinder being the only platform used to gather participants. While Tinder does produce a large sample size, there are some restrictions. First, not every woman who is single is going to be using this dating app. This narrows down the participants to women who have a smartphone are interested in attempting to meet a partner and choose Tinder are the dating app they prefer to use. There are sub-sections of women in each city who are single, between 25-35, who do not use Tinder for a multitude of reasons. Some women might not be interested in dating at all; others might think of Tinder as only an app for casual dates and, therefore, do not use it. Second, the photograph of my

(40)

face in my Tinder profile could have affected who responded. In the end, I felt it was necessary to include my picture to show potential participants that I was a real person, making them more comfortable speaking with me.

In the following chapters, an analysis of the empirics will be conducted. There are three chapters: housing pathways, relationship and family formation, and social networks, each highlighting the main themes that emerged from this study and coincided with the main research question and sub-questions.

(41)

Part 3: Analysis

Chapter 1: Housing Pathways

The following chapter will compare the housing pathways of middle-class women emerging into adulthood in Amsterdam and Oslo. Relying heavily on empirics, an analysis of the differences and similarities in housing pathways will be discussed. Through coding, four key sub-themes emerged: pathways to living alone, cultural notions surrounding homeownership, the act of homemaking, and living in an urban context: structure vs. agency. The main variance seen between the housing pathways of Oslo and Amsterdam is the amount of homeownership. 64% of Oslo participants own their home, and only 20% in Amsterdam. The research questions guiding this chapter are: how do single women living alone in different urban contexts negotiate single life courses? With sub-questions: what mechanisms do females living alone employ to facilitate their housing and lifestyle choices? And: what urban traits and features promote female

autonomy in the city? Single living is predominantly a choice for these women. However, this choice is embedded in the particular socio-economic contexts of Oslo and Amsterdam, revealing variation in housing market dynamics and personal tensions due to societal pressures.

3.1.1 Pathways to Living Alone

I moved when I was 18; I really needed to move out… I wanted to make sure I had a fresh start. (Zoe, Amsterdam)

The majority of the research participants in Amsterdam and Oslo did not leave their parental home and move straight into a single person dwelling. These women attempted various other living situations before being ready or realizing they wanted to live alone. The transition into adulthood is a crucial stage in life that often begins when respondents leave the parental home

(42)

for the first time. This passage into more traditional life course pathways is a shift in status moving towards adulthood (Arnett, 2007; Buchmann & Kreisi, 2011;). However, for many of these women, the emergence into adulthood is not always a linear pathway and is often

manifested in their housing choices (Arnett, 2007; Arundel & Ronald, 2016; Mulder 2003). For many participants, living with friends was a significant juncture on their pathway to living alone. This shared housing choice allowed them to experience living away from their parents, but not carry the full responsibility of being on their own. It gave them time to experiment and mature before the societal pressure to become an adult fully set in. As Lilly, a participant from Oslo, describes below, she went through a long process of trying various housing situations before figuring out that she was ready to live alone:

For some months, I moved to a collective, like a live-in collective with two other persons, and I lived there one year. And then I moved to another collective that was a little bit different because we were four persons who live together… then I went backpacking a couple of months, and then I went back to (living with) my grandfather, and after half a year I was like, I really would like to live alone… I think this was about in 2013… and since then, I've been living alone.

The housing patterns of these women follow the pathway that Mulder (2003) describes as young people leave the parental home for the first time. Initially, they move into shared housing, such as a cooperative or student house, and then move onto either living alone or cohabitating with a partner. Following this pattern, many of the participants consider living alone the most

(43)

Most of Oslo's participants said their first experience living away from the parental home was in a student cooperative house. Living in cooperative housing is very common for students in Oslo (Bengtsson, 2017). This housing choice is a cheap way for students to rent a room in Oslo and fosters a sense of community and support. However, participants who had this experience expressed that after a few years of living in a cooperative, they realized they did not want to live in this situation forever. They described it as a positive first step towards becoming more self-autonomous, but the reality of the living situation felt anonymous. Many participants voiced that they did not feel they had ownership over their own space, and this experience leads them to feel ready to live alone.

The participants in Amsterdam described similar housing patterns. It was most common for the women to live with friends during University and move out on their own once they transitioned into the workforce. After having lived with friends for many years, these women began to shift their priorities. Jolijn describes this change in her housing pathway below.

I was actually more getting annoyed by my roommates, and they were still studying, and I was working, so then you know you have this different lifestyle. And a friend of mine, her father owns a really big boat and so he has a little studio on the boat and then I thought okay. That sounds cool.

As these women mature, the value of privacy increases and they desire more space for their belongings. For them, the socio-economic pressure to behave and conform as an adult also intensifies. One of the main ways they adapt to these pressures is through their housing choice. These women feel that they can choose to cohabitate with a partner or live alone to be considered a responsible adult. Several respondents from both cities spoke about having lived with a partner

(44)

previously. Nevertheless, after their breakups, all of them decided to live alone. It was not always a smooth transition, but they felt more empowered living by themselves. Leah, who moved to Oslo with her boyfriend and shortly after that ended the relationship, describes her experience below.

I came back to Oslo with my then partner, and then we broke up, so I just stayed on in that same apartment… I love it. It was a really hard break up, but it was also a really tough relationship that did not really work. So just the feeling of coming back to my own place knowing that I will not be met with fighting. Everything will be the way it was when I left it. Nobody will have made it worse or better. It is just totally under my control.

Leah felt empowered having ownership over her own space and not having to compromise with another person. These women realized that the normative idea of living with a partner is not always fulfilling, which motivates many of them to choose to live alone. This housing choice promotes female autonomy and demonstrates that they are capable of being independent and gives them room to express their identity.

3.1.2 Cultural Notions Surrounding Homeownership

Homeownership carries different significance for women in each city. The majority of the Oslo respondents owned their homes and spoke about feeling societal pressure to buy. For decades, homeownership in Norway has been considered the most financially secure choice for young adults (Bengtsson, 2017). Research has shown that in recent years the Amsterdam housing market has moved towards homeownership more (Druta et al., 2019). Yet, the interviews with the women living in Amsterdam revealed that the cultural mentality is not moving along with it.

Female Solo Dwellers: how women negotiate life course pathways in two urban contexts

Faculty of Social Sciences

Research Master’s in Urban Studies