Hypothetical Situation 1 or 2 Bedroom

Is that you?

If there's any way to swing it, I think she should take the extra bedroom. It's hard to get sleep and enact certain discipline when kids are in the same room.

2 bedrooms. Kids old enough for a bunk bed are old enough to not be sleeping in the same room as mom unless it's a temporary emergency.

If it's a contentious divorce, the 2 bedroom. PURELY because the argument can be made in court about being an unfit mother without seperate bedrooms for adult and children.

I personally find it a stupid argument... but I've spent half my life in hotels and traveling (and in tents, boats, motorhomes). The courts, however, will often revoke custody if the child(ren) and parents are not in separate bedrooms.

Option B, though, is to "studio up" the 1 bedroom. Bedroom for the kids, mom's bed out in the main living area. That keeps the courts happy, but saves $80 a month.

Depending on IF the Mom can afford the extra $80/month comfortably, I think the privacy is worth it. Being newly single, she's going to need some quality time to herself. Being newly single with kids CAN'T be easy. There will be moments when maybe she can't be strong for her kids and it will be ideal if she has a place to go to cry, to think, to meditate, etc.

But if the $80/month is the difference between whether her kids get fed or not, then obviously the privacy sacrifice must be made.

I'd personally spend the extra $80 a month for the seperate bedrooms. I can always cut back other places (basic cable, phone and internet ... instead of something higher for example). It will save her on therapy sessions in the future LOL

Gotta think that an extra $1K per year would be worth a little personal space for mom AND the kids........

I hope this is NOT you.

Two bedroom - EVERYONE deserves their privacy. The kids NEED their own room - even if they are sharing one - they NEED that "away" time.

Mommy MUST have her privacy as well.

If you (or the hypothetical person) goes for a one bedroom to 'save money' you/she will NOT be saving your sanity. If you/she are separating from husband - you/she will need time to grieve the loss in private. You will need to cry - and you don't need your kids seeing you cry.

I pray that this mom has a support system in place. it will be a hard change.

Good luck.

2 bedroom unless it's completely unaffordable. if it must be the 1 bedroom, figure out a way to curtain off part of the room for mom-only.
khairete
S.

Definitely the 2 bedroom. Everyone will need some "cognitive space" and you can't have any sense of privacy and downtime when you share a room with your kids. It would be like living in a hotel room.

The ONLY thing I would suggest is maybe talking with the landlord about putting up a temporary wall to separate the space if $80 per month makes a difference in her budgeting. Bottom line, she will have to put food on the table, pay rent, make the car payment and put gas in the car! If $80 would impact any of that... looks like it's time to invest in ear plugs! If not, having a private bedroom will save her sanity.

My husband and I lived in my tiny one bedroom (really a studio with a 3/4 wall) apartment for 8 months before our house was finished. We nearly killed eachother because (especially during the winter months), we literally could not escape one another!

While I am all for being frugal I think you really will need some down time and having two bedrooms would give some of that.

I'd take the 2 bedroom that costs a bit more. That's not much to pay for privacy!

Take what you can afford now and work to save for something bigger (that you can afford) later.

2 - you need your sanity!

If the price for the 2 bedroom is doable. Do it.

Go with the 2 bedroom. The kids are already giving up bedrooms, but to have to give up bedrooms plus share with mom would be tough. For Mom, it'd be extra tough, too. This gives more opportunity for everyone to have some private time. It also works for discipline, playtime, and when reducing the sharin of germs when someone is sick. As a single parent living, life with the kids is a big fishbowl. Having a separate place to occasionally retreat can be a real sanity saver.

I would go with 2 bed

B. k

2 bed room for sure, kids need their own space and mom needs her own space at night

Many times if child welfare visits a home they will take the children into custody if they don't have bedrooms that meet HUD standards. That means non same gender kids sharing a room and no adult bedroom separate from the kids.

SO it would be no question for me at all. I would have to get the apartment that offered the best situation for the kids. If they are the same gender they can share a room if not the mom needs to be looking for ones that have a 3rd bedroom.

If I could afford the $80, I'd put the kids in one room and myself in the other. My mom was a single mom and for years my sister and I shared a room as a 2 bedroom was what she could afford. But I think sharing with HER would have been bad for her as she got so little to herself (having to do it all). I do know someone who had a 1 bedroom, but she slept in the livingroom. Her kids were very small. It can be done, though, and that's the route I would go if I could not afford a separate bedroom for myself, taking tips from efficiency apartments for how to have a dual living space.

I agree with the other posters. If this is you, then also consider it privacy to take awkward phone calls, grieve/cry, etc.

Get the bigger one. You don't know how long it will be before you can afford to move again, since moving fees, deposits, etc are a lot of money. You will feel cramped and frustrated in a one bedroom apartment with multiple kids and no privacy for anyone. $80 per month is not much money at all, especially if it means everyone will be happier and less stressed.