Fitting Homes? Young People's Housing and Household Strategies in Rural Scotland

Abstract

Recent research on young people and housing has identified the strategies that young people have to employ in a housing market which does not cater for them. Young people's housing careers, their perceptions of the local rural housing market, and whether they consciously employ adaptive household strategies in order to be able to compete for housing are considered. A recent Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded study of young people in the Scottish Borders, comparing the housing careers of stayers with those of migrants away from the area, is discussed. The study involved a qualitative follow-up from a subset of the Scottish Young People's Survey, and this housing analysis is based on data from taped individual interviews with young people aged 22-23 years. The findings indicate that the current rural housing market discriminates particularly against women, and argue for more housing provision for single young people.