'When I come home, dinner is ready': Family relationships & single women's housing decisions in Tokyo, Hong Kong & Shanghai

This paper argues that the housing choices of single women in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai are shaped in important ways by their relationships with their families. Single women in all three cities decide whether or not to... [ view full abstract ]

This paper argues that the housing choices of single women in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai are shaped in important ways by their relationships with their families. Single women in all three cities decide whether or not to live with their parents based on their feelings of comfort and support they receive from family members. Single women who live on their own may move back in with their parents when they feel their parents may require their support. In other words, financial calculation is not the sole criteria for housing decisions; emotional and sentimental factors in relation to their parents are significant. The paper also argues that single women’s housing strategies are shaped by the different family formations in the three cities. Shanghainese women who are singleton daughters without siblings may spend years living with their parents if a supportive environment is provided. In Hong Kong unmarried women may live with their natal families or even with their brothers’ family if they feel that they are welcomed there. At the same time, women’s choices are limited because of assumptions about marriage and families – namely that women will marry and that upon doing so, men will provide a family income and housing. Such assumptions result in single women facing financial difficulties in accumulating sufficient capital to purchase property in highly expensive urban housing markets.