Paper short abstract:

For Swedish second home owners time stands out as an important factor in relation to their choice of lifestyle. This paper will explore the second home, and practices related to it, as tools for understanding perception and management of time.

Paper long abstract:

Time stands out as an important factor in relation to the choice of a second home-lifestyle. For the participants of my ongoing study of Swedish second home owners between the ages of 30 and 45, living and working in the cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg, different ways of managing time are ever present issues. In the rural second home time is perceived differently than in the permanent city-dwelling. Time is conditioned by place, as well as space. When participants do ordinary every-day things differently in the summer cottage, like doing the dishes by hand for example, it impacts the perception of time. The space and the practicalities of the second home allows for "being in the moment". Time then seems to stretch. Chores can take longer, the pace is generally slower and the participants feel they are allowed to "just exist". In the second home, time is theirs to own. Sometimes time even seems to stand completely still. Participants leave the summer cottage and when they come back weeks later, they feel no time has passed at all. This paper will explore the second home, and practices related to it, as tools for understanding perception and management of time.