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Nobody's Home: Dreams and Realities in a New Suburb.

Carol Silverman, Lyn Richards

Open publisher page 113 citations

Abstract

The dream of suburban ownership continues to appeal to many men and women. Yet the realities of this dream often translate into a house where nobody's home because everyone must work to pay off the high costs of ownership. Nobody's Home studies the dream and its social results. Based on five years observing one Australian suburb, it probes the myth of equality and ownership, and explores the acceptance of migrants to the family community, the changing needs of families, and ideas of privacy and neighborliness. Arguing that the experience of community is divided by class, stage of family, and gender, the study examines the differences between women's and men's desire for neighbors, local friendships, and groups.

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What this paper is about

The dream of suburban ownership continues to appeal to many men and women. Yet the realities of this dream often translate into a house where nobody's home because everyone must work to pay off the high costs of ownership. Nobody's Home studies the dream and its social results. Based on five years observing one Australian suburb, it probes the myth of equality and ownership, and explores the acceptance of migrants to the family community, the changing needs of families, and ideas of privacy and neighborliness. Arguing that the experience of community is divided by class, stage of family, and gender, the study examines the differences between women's and men's desire for neighbors, local friendships, and groups.

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OpenAlex reports 113 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

The dream of suburban ownership continues to appeal to many men and women. Yet the realities of this dream often translate into a house where nobody's home because everyone must work to pay off the high costs of ownership. Nobody's Home studies the dream and its social results. Based on five years observing one Australian suburb, it probes the myth of equality and ownership, and explores the acceptance of migrants to the family community, the changing needs of families, and ideas of privacy and neighborliness. Arguing that the experience of community is divided by class, stage of family, and gender, the study examines the differences between women's and men's desire for neighbors, local friendships, and groups.

Key concepts: nobody, Dream, Appeal, Mythology, Sociology, Gender studies, Social psychology, Psychology

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