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Hi dad's,
Having been through the court system, fought for months and spent every penny I didn't have fighting to see my children, the battle is over but the bigger war... finances, has started to take its toll. I've searched high and low for what I think is an answer to a problem we all face. How do we pay to support our children and at the same time, afford to live ourselves? Not an easy question to answer but I've come up with an idea I wouldn't mind getting some feedback on. How many of you dad's would consider entering into a single dad house share? Splitting rent, bills etc, effectively living together to share the financial burden? Let me know your thoughts as if be keen to explore further and try and held dad's in similar circumstances to myself.
I think it sounds like a great idea. Single dads would be far more understanding and child friendly, with traditional house shares there might not be much tolerance towards kids staying over regularly, kids toys about the place etc.
Have you actually gone into a single dad house share or is it something you are thinking about?
I think that's an excellent idea - it would cut the cost of housing, you'd have a communal area for kids, and if more than one of you had kids at the same time, then you have playmates for your children. It might be worth going to your local housing association and suggesting it to them as an idea - if they have suitable properties, I would think that separated dads would make ideal tenants.
Hi mojo,
Its something i explored and would have gone through with for myself were it not for there being little opportunity out there to do so. It would no doubt require an awful lot of work etc but if it helps dad's to provide a better quality of life for their children and themselves, then it's got to be worth giving it a go so watch this space and I'll keep you updated!
Thank you for your reply actd and you're calling out all the benefits I see of this idea too which is good! Unfortunately, local housing associations will only ever house dad's that have shared custody and not primary custody, as a single person entitled to a single room property which is crazy in my opinion. I'm more likely to take this one down the private housing route because there's more scope and less restriction
You could try contacting an organisation such as Gingerbread, which are a nationwide organisation for single parents. you may be able to network on there and find likeminded people. Perhaps Families Need Fathers might be another avenue for you to explore, or dadsunlimited, another group recommended by Superprouddad.
I wouldn't limit your scope to just Dads either, they may also be women that would benefit from such a house share.
If it worked for you you could try starting up your own website to link Dads
up for houseshares too... there's a lot of potential in your idea.
Best of luck
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