I bought a duplex with my ex so we could co-parent our son. He has 2 rooms and I get privacy.

"We thought about renting two apartments in the same building. But most of the apartment buildings in town were prohibitively expensive. Before we decided to split, we'd been talking about buying a house after years of renting. But now that dream was out of reach... wasn't it? And then I thought: what if we bought a duplex? The mortgage would be lower than the rent on two apartments, and we'd be building equity."

"We weren't the kind of exes who didn't ever want to see each other; we were just the kind of exes who didn't want to be together. It might work."

"The marriage wasn't working, but it felt overwhelming to think about leaving it. I had no idea how to navigate a separation with a small child: how to explain to my son that he wouldn't get bedtime kisses from both parents, how to manage the costs of two households, and how to navigate the complexities of scheduling as a single mom."

After deciding to separate amicably, a couple faced the challenge of managing two households while co-parenting their four-year-old son. Rather than renting separate apartments, which proved financially prohibitive, they purchased a duplex together. This arrangement allowed them to build equity while maintaining separate living spaces and collaborative parenting. The couple remained on good terms despite their relationship ending, viewing themselves as friends who no longer wanted to be together romantically. Their unconventional housing solution addressed practical concerns about scheduling, costs, and ensuring their son maintained close relationships with both parents.

Read at Business Insider