Single women buying homes–in droves

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If we ever needed further evidence of the trend toward remaining single in America, this is it. Look at these stats:

  • More than one in five home buyers (20+%) is a single woman. The myth of a guy coming along and buying you a house is disappearing almost as fast as the percentage of life-long marriages.
  • Twice as many unmarried women are buying homes as single men. Of course! The guys don’t have a woman to take care of it! ” )
  • Single women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994. Yeah, we are a growing demographic with increasing economic clout!

More single women want to own their own home… either they want more space or they want less home to take care of. Or they’re moving to be closer to a job, to school, or to family. Heck, that’s why I bought in Chicago. After a few decades away, I was ready to come back and be closer to my siblings. Funny how perspectives can change as you grow older.

Another younger single woman bought because she had decided to become a single mom. Others are tired of fighting the constantly rising rents in big cities. Here’s what Elizabeth Weintraub, of About.com’s homebuying section, says about single women and home buying:

Trends for Single Women Home Buyers

  • 3 out of 4 women spend less than $200,000.
  • Prefer 2 bedrooms or more.
  • Less likely to choose new construction.
  • Buy in city over suburban areas.
  • Will compromise size & cost to get other amenities.
  • Will not compromise on location or quality of neighborhood.
  • Prefer condominiums with well run homeowner associations over single family homes.
  • Smaller spaces are acceptable.
  • Desire security and / or gated access.
  • Like to engage in social interaction with neighbors.
  • Want close proximity to stores, shopping and fitness centers.

Sound familiar? I didn’t even realize when I moved here how incredibly convenient my location is to public transportation–I actually have 3 completely different ways to access the multitude of routes and options in the city. I’m only the second stop away from Union Station on the train line–that’s a mere 15 minutes from downtown Chicago. There’s a grocery store half a block from my home–I can walk there, pick out my items, and be back in 20 minutes. The CVS on the corner carries drugs, cosmetics and wine. What more could a single working woman want?

If you’ve got stories about your home buying dreams or your experiences, please share them with our readers. Visit us here and share!

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Barbara Payne, April 30th 2008 | Posted in single women economic power, single women home buyers

Texas town ruled by women

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Yep. Down there on Route 66 is a one-stoplight town where all the elected officials are women. They’re doing it–like women all over the world–because it needed to be done. The city was falling apart.

So what if the population is 830. It’s a start.

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Barbara Payne, April 21st 2008 | Posted in Uncategorized

Problem? Get answers from your subconscious

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How often do you consult your inner genius when you have a problem to solve? I remember telling some members of a client company about how I often wake up in the morning and have these amazing thoughts about what to write for my latest client project…that I considered this information sent from the universe and not of my own generation. Like a muse, for which I’m merely the receiver. Oh, how they looked at me like I was crazy. We single working women–especially those of us who live alone–have an extra good chance of meeting this muse frequently.

I suspect they were mainly just too tired in the mornings to have ever noticed their innner guidance. Because I believe we all have it. Sometimes, it’s about trusting your ‘still, small voice’…your feelings about conscious decisions (Vera Nadine does a nice job talking about this), but I’m also talking about letting your deep subconscious give you answers that your conscious mind isn’t able to access. It’s a secret we can all use. Before you go to sleep, present your mind with a problem or issue you need an answer for. Then when you wake up (even to pee in the middle of the night even), stay quiet and listen. Don’t talk to a roommate or bedmate. Just remain quiet as you slowly wake up. Keep a pen and notebook handy next to your bed and a small light you can turn on without jolting yourself fully awake.

As you swim slowly up into consciousness, you are almost sure to hear ideas for solving your dilemma. If nothing comes at first, go back to sleep and let it happen again. You’ll be surprised at how original and creative some of your answers will be.

Caution: This works better if you weren’t partying too hearty the night before.

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Barbara Payne, April 21st 2008 | Posted in inner guidance, meet the muse, single working women, still small lvoice, subconscious

Can you really make money working from home?

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Many single working women are always on the lookout for ways to increase cash flow. And usually already having a full-time job somewhere–or being a more-than-full-time entrepreneur–you may find the idea of making extra money out of your home passionately appealing.

I wonder who among us has not been tempted at some time to respond to the posters on the electric poles and the ads in the local papers, promising thousands of dollars a month for stuffing envelopes. If you did, let’s hope you haven’t invested anything. About.com offers some solid information on avoiding those enticing work-at-home offers that usually end up costing you one way or another. And here’s their take on companies/jobs with legitimate work-at-home possibilities.

Now the other option of working at home is to become an entrepreneur. See our previous post on that topic for ideas on finding the courage to start a business from home.

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Barbara Payne, April 21st 2008 | Posted in legitimate work-at-home opportunities, start business at home, women entrepreneurs, work from home, work-at-home scam

Conquering the fear of being an entrepreneur

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It takes tremendous courage and commitment to become an entrepreneur. And it can be even harder if you’re a single woman–let alone a single mom. Not only because you often don’t have any kind of financial backup, but you seldom have anyone else to help with anything. And if you don’t have a financial cushion, that gets even more problematical.

This interview of the author of a book about entrepreneurial moms talks about a big secret when you create your own business–you are your biggest asset. A nice quote:

With the help and support of family and friends, she [a woman in an abusive marriage] not only got out of a bad situation, she started a business and regained her self-respect. That day was a turning point for me, when I realized how profoundly women could be impacted by a little bit of knowledge and encouragement.

Sound familiar? I can totally relate. When I wanted to start my own business, I was held back by my fear of there being enough work out there. And one day, I stumbled on an article about freelance writing as a career that said “almost every company uses freelance writers.” That was all I needed to know.

Oh, and a couple of years ago, a friend who runs her own very successful massage/trigger-point-therapy business, said her brother–a successful serial entrepreneur himself–told her this about it: “If you’re any good at what you do, you’ll make a living.”

If you’re dying to try your own business, take these words of encouragement with you.

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Barbara Payne, April 18th 2008 | Posted in freelance writer, start your own business, women entrepreneurs

The World's Shortest Fairy Tale

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Got this in an email from a delightful single mom I know:

Once upon a time, there was a guy and a girl. One day the guy asked the girl, “Will you marry me?”

The girl thought about it and said: “No!”

And the girl went shopping, dancing, camping, drank martinis, always had a clean house, cooked only when she wanted to, did whatever the heck she wanted, never argued, didn’t get fat, traveled, had many lovers, saved money when she felt like it, and had all the hot water to herself. She went to the theater, never watched sports, never wore lacy lingerie, had high self esteem, never cried or yelled, felt and looked fabulous in sweat pants and was pleasant all the time.

THE END

Refreshing new take on “happily ever after,” eh?

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Barbara Payne, April 10th 2008 | Posted in happily ever after, single by choice, single mom, will you marry me

Women's lives

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Everybody knows that women operate on a different plane than men do. Most of us have the ability to concentrate on many things at once, and most guys don’t. If you’ve ever read any of Dave Barry’s stuff, you may remember the cute illustration he used to make this point. The diagram of the woman’s brain is divided into about 300 separate segments, each labeled with a critical piece of a woman’s life–buy groceries, walk dog, clean carpets, dust, work, read to kids, plan dinner, consider career change, etc. etc.

The guy’s brain is shown segmented into three parts–food, beer, and football–in almost equal measures.

Thanks to the RE:INVENTION blog about marketing to women, we’ve got this tidbit… Executive women–who now make up about 1/3 of all company relocations–typically take longer than men to return to full productivity after the move. I wonder why? I added a little comment over there, too. Enjoy–they’ve got a lot to say.

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Barbara Payne, April 4th 2008 | Posted in corporate relocations, executive women, marketing to women, productivity

Planning to have a baby

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A certain percentage of women who are single today will never marry. Some will have long-term relationships and some won’t. Either way, unless they accidentally become pregnant, those who want to have a baby must make a decision at some point to take the plunge into single motherhood.

One single mom I know said she looked around and saw friends not making the decision until their late-30s—and then struggling with fertility issues. She decided she wasn’t waiting that long. If the right guy hadn’t shown up by the time she was 29, she was going for it. She became pregnant immediately via a donor. Then, after the healthiest pregnancy I’ve ever seen—and a delivery that was accomplished completely free of drugs of any kind—she’s now the overjoyed mom of a 9-month-old little girl.

For those who do want to wait, here’s an idea. Got an email the other day from a company called Repromedix. They are marketing a blood/hormone test product that is supposed to help you predict how many eggs you have remaining in your ovaries–considered one important sign of fertility—so you can make a more informed decision about when to try for a pregnancy.

The courage of today’s single women shines as a beacon of strength in our world. Given what many children go through when their parents divorce (1 of every 2 marriages ends this way), I cannot see being born to a single mom as tragic or awful. Too many studies have been done indicating that kids—and this includes boys—with single moms are no worse off socially and emotionally, and may even be far ahead in some measures. Check out Raising Boys: 10 Tips for Single Moms.

For those single women who choose to become moms, my congratulations on your courage. And may you and your children be a lesson in love for all the world to see.

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Barbara Payne, April 3rd 2008 | Posted in fertility, late pregnancy, single mom by choice, single mothers

The power of protesting

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Saw something on television last night that—if my guess is correct—restores my faith in the power of speaking up when you see things that aren’t right. Because I can only assume that, since some single women I know noticed it and objected strenuously, there had to be many others who felt the same way.
 
I’m talking about the commercial put out a few months ago by the makers of Zantac, the over-the-counter drug for treating acid indigestion and acid reflux. The commercial starts out with a picture of a woman who looks like hell. In the first part of the video, she’s wearing a baggy black dress, has pouches under her eyes and is holding her stomach. The copy talks about how stomach acid can destroy your life.
 
Then the woman takes her Zantac, and we watch as her world is transformed before our very eyes. She’s magically transported out of her miserable little hovel to a trendy restaurant, where suddenly flowers appear and she’s surrounded by smiling people. She’s even got a belt on now to show us she really is very attractive.
 
But the most astounding—and insulting—part is when the special effects guys swoop into the picture with a little hand (I think that’s what it was–like a genie’s hand I guess) that pulls a handsome, suit-bedecked man out of thin air and places him opposite her at the restaurant table. Copy says something to the effect of, “Now, your life can begin.”
 
I was appalled when I first saw it. Good grief, I thought. Can women never escape the myth that we are nothing without a man? Then, a few days later, another, much younger, single woman friend called me on the phone one night and said, you won’t believe what this commercial just did! I immediately knew exactly the one she was talking about. She, too, was highly insulted by this little scenario.
 
Well, guess what? Last night I saw a Zantac commercial. And they had taken the offending scenes out. Hurray! Enough women spoke up about the crass, prejudiced picture the earlier version presented—and got results. For what it’s worth, maybe we SWWANs should make it a point to find a few minutes to complain to the powers that be every time we notice single women being presented in unflattering and even offensive ways.
 
From small beginnings, great changes come.

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Barbara Payne, April 2nd 2008 | Posted in Uncategorized