Young adult homeownership pathways and intergenerational support Druta, O.

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1 UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Young adult homeownership pathways and intergenerational support Druta, O. Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Dru, O. (2017). Young adult homeownership pathways and intergenerational support: Homes, meanings and practices General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam ( Download date: 10 Jan 2019

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10 Acknowledgements This dissertation began as an academic pursuit and an inspiring professional opportunity. The research that went into it, however, shaped my life in more ways than one. It made me, once more, internationally mobile, first by bringing me to Amsterdam, and then taking me away for field research trips and the many conferences and engagements that became a trademark of the project. The research also became, in an interesting way, an occasion for continuous reflection of my own pathway through life, and changing relationships within and across generations. During the four years of the PhD, I experienced, in quick succession, many of the transitions that my informants recounted in their stories: marriage, buying a home, having a child. It has been an incredible personal journey, not just a professional one. I could not have succeeded in this endeavor, however, without the openness, energy and continuous support of people around me. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Richard Ronald, for conceiving the HOUWEL project and trusting me with an important part of it. Richard has been an inspiration for me, as an academic mentor who always had some piece of meaningful advice to give at all the stages of the project, from writing the proposal and research plan, through the fieldwork and the writing up process. However, over the course of the project I learned from him much more, about how to be a good teacher, manage professional relationship, and generally have fun while being serious about your job. Second, I will always be grateful to my promotor, Sako Musterd, for his confidence in me, for his down-to-earth advise about research and writing, and for his support with navigating the more arcane administrative procedures of the PhD. Thirdly, I am grateful to the other two members of the HOUWEL team, Chris and Rowan, for their useful advise and ideas, and for making the my PhD experience enjoyable every day. The memories we have accumulated in these years going to conferences on different continents together, organizing workshops and other events together, but also simply making the HOUWEL project a reality, as a team, will bind us and hopefully provide a source of constant entertainment for many years to come. This dissertation would not have been possible without the openness and graciousness of my 144 informants in Birmingham, Tokyo and Bucharest. I very much appreciated your time and the candid sharing of your life stories. You have been an inspiration, not only for my research, but also for me personally. My research has been made easier by the support of Ben, Ayumi and Yukiko, Ioana and Dona, who helped me collect the interviews, but also by, Alexandru, Megumi and Aki who helped transcribe them. Thank you! In addition, this research has benefitted from the support of the HOUWEL research partners, Karen and John, Liviu, Glenda, Lidia and Teresio, Ilse, 1

11 Young Adult Homeownership Pathways and Intergenerational Support Fenne and Aram, who provided input during partner meetings, logistical support during fieldwork, and also conducted some of the fieldwork (thank you Lidia, Magda and Lory for your work in Milan and Aram for your work in Amsterdam). I am grateful to the University of Amsterdam, for providing me with a wonderful environment in which to pursue a PhD. Thank you Puikang, for your patience in handling my budget claims, Barbara, for helping me through all the administrative procedures and offering useful advice with things from immigration to maternity leave, Marian and Elise, for the logistical support with everything from stationary to room bookings, planes and hotels, Lisette, Joni and RJ at the Center for Urban Studies, for helping me make all my event ideas reality. Though a PhD trajectory can be at times frustrating and lonely, I could always count on a helpful hand and a person to talk to among my colleagues. A special thanks goes to Jing, for her steadfast friendship and moral support, to Justin, who always finds a good word to say about my writing even when it clearly is far from the mark, to Cody and Myrte for the lunchtime conversations, the knowledge of Maastricht, and keeping our room warm. Many more people have made my life at the UvA pleasant, you know who you are and I cannot begin to thank you all. The beauty of HOUWEL was that it allowed me to form close professional friendships with people from other universities, and here I will only mention a few of the great people that have influenced my PhD experience. Caroline, Stefanie, Barend and Christa at Tilburg University, Manuel, Rodrigo, Jannes, Annelore and Miriam at KU Leuven, the workshops we organized together were epic and so important to doing my PhD work. Finally, I will turn to the people that have shaped my life and made me who I am today. I have been blessed with wonderful friends, who supported me at tough times, accepted my academic wonkiness, and generally made my life a cheerful one. In particular I want to thank Diana, my all time best friend for being close during the last months of my PhD when I needed all the energy I could get. My family have kept me rooted, have nurtured me through every new stage of my life, and for that I am extremely grateful to them. My mother has been an example to me throughout my life, full of energy, stubborn, believing in what she does and following through with hard work. Mum, you are an inspiration! My sister, Carmen, has always been a source of comfort and pride. To have her means to always have someone to talk to, someone to listen to my deepest fears, but also it means having someone to challenge me to think outside the box. 2

12 Acknowledgements My deepest thanks go to my husband and partner, Gökhan. You are the love of my life. Your constant support allows me persevere through the toughest times, and gives balance and meaning to my life. Your tough scrutiny of my academic work has made my PhD all the better, and I hope to be able to count on your help for a long time to come. More than anything, I am grateful for our life together, our beautiful home and the son we will raise together. 3