Using analytical concepts of success, coping and social exclusion, this article attempts to describe young people's life histories and various ways of transition into adulthood; transitions that I claim to be classed, gendered and culturally diverse. This article draws from several research projects, mainly Social and Spatial Transitions in Young People's Life Course. In this study, 61 young people around 20 years old were interviewed. Pierre Bourdieu's notions of social and cultural capital are applied in the reading of young people's life histories. Also their sense of agency and strategies of coping are examined. Bourdieu's theory of capitals has been developed further in the context of youth studies. In the article I introduce the notion of subcultural social capital, which refers to social networks and groupings and resources in certain youth cultural fields. In this article, five cases of young people are examined through narratives of success, coping and social exclusion. I suggest that these stories are embedded in specific cultures, which are classed and gendered. (Contains 1 note.)