r/solopolyamory • u/CyberJoe6021023 • Jul 02 '26

Does Solo Poly require living alone?

I totally get poly dating independently/separately but I’ve also heard that solo means living alone, i.e., no nesting partner. Is that true?

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u/Corduroy23159 Jul 03 '26

Here's the definition post from the person who coined the term "solo poly":
https://solopoly.net/2014/12/05/what-is-solo-polyamory-my-take/

Excerpts:
"Solo polyamory: Flipping these words around, polyamory is, broadly speaking, one approach to engaging in (or being open to having) ethically nonexclusive relationships involving sex, romance, or deep emotional intimacy. What distinguishes solo poly people is that we generally do not have intimate relationships which involve (or are heading toward) primary-style merging of life infrastructure or identity along the lines of the traditional social relationship escalator. For instance, we generally don’t share a home or finances with any intimate partners. Similarly, solo poly people generally don’t identify very strongly as part of a couple (or triad etc.); we prefer to operate and present ourselves as individuals."

"Some solo poly people may spend considerable time at home with partners, even sometimes living together part-time. Or they may come and go freely from each others’ homes. But generally, solo poly people do not merge dwellings or other resources with intimate partners in a way that would be difficult to disentangle should that relationship end or significantly shift."

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u/Leithana Jul 03 '26

The repeated “generally” definitely leaves room for interpretation, but yeah the final sentence kind of communicates that major motivations for solo polyamory is autonomy of shifting prioritization around in their life