The housing market was built for couples, and if you're single and renting or trying to buy alone, you feel that every single month. This episode explains why it's not your fault, and what's actually changing.
Alicia Denby, sociology researcher and PhD expert on singles in urban spaces, reveals the structural reasons housing is harder and more expensive for single people. Plus, co-living company Cohabs explains how a new model of living is solving the loneliness and cost crisis for single women simultaneously.
Bree speaks from direct experience: as a solo female traveller and single woman living alone in multiple cities, she has navigated the housing market from hostels to private apartments — and found that the traditional model of solo living is only one option.
In this episode you'll learn:
• Why housing genuinely costs more for single people; the structural reasons
• How urban spaces are designed around couples and families, and what that means for single women living alone
• The loneliness tax of solo living and why co-living might be the answer
• What co-living actually looks like in 2026 and whether it's right for you
• Your real options as a single person beyond renting alone or moving back home
• Why single women in major cities are increasingly choosing community living over isolation
Bree is in Mumbai, India.
Find out more about Alicia Denby's work here
You can follow Alicia Denby on Instagram here
Find out more about Cohabs here
Find Lucy d'Alençon here
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Email: lastyearofsingle@gmail.com
Host and Executive Producer: Bree Steele
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