Pathways to Integration: Cross-cultural Adaptations to the Housing Market in Oslo

Abstract

Immigrants move not only from one country to another, but also to different ways of living and different kinds of housing systems. Based on the studies among households with Pakistani, Tamil and Somali background in Oslo, this article explores how immigrants adapt to the housing market. The result is a typology of cross-cultural adaptation, developed from the experiences of the households. Behaviours are interpreted as expressions of how people link structures and resources from their cultural belonging with perceived constraints and opportunities in new contexts. The type of adaptive behaviour is shown to have consequences for how immigrants perform in the housing market in their new place of residence. Those who manage to apply previous knowledge to openings and options in the new housing system are in a favourable position.