Solo Living - the meaning of home for persons living alone

Like in other countries, the number of people living in one-person households is growing in Denmark. The share of Danes living alone has increased from 9.1% in 1981 to 16.1% in 2006, and the increase is particularly marked for persons aged 30 to 60 years (the "middle-aged"). This raises the analytical question of how middle-aged persons who are living alone experience and shape their dwelling and integrate it into their everyday practices. This paper discusses this question on the basis of qualitative interviews with middle-aged Danes living alone. The preliminary results from the study show that solo livers to a great extent experience and use their dwellings in ways similar to persons living in multi-person households. However, differences are also observed. Firstly, all interviewed solo livers emphasize independence from others as important. Several of the informants have had negative experiences with living together with a partner, and they like the feeling of independence. However, all informants at the same time keep a door open for the possibility of moving together with "the right one". This indicates a kind of ambiguity related to the situation of solo living. Secondly, the interviews indicate that solo livers in some cases spend more time outside home (occupied by leisure activities or together with friends) compared with people living in oneperson households. This suggests a different balance between time at home and outside home for some solo livers.