To ask if you can live in a house share with a toddler?

[WhereAreAllTheTeaspoons]

I start uni in September and have a toddler DD. I've posted numerous times under different usernames about useless DP who is now ex useless DP. We currently live together in a house rented in his name, it's not an option to stay here as I simply can't afford the rent alone.

In September I'll get a student loan, but I'm struggling to work out how much extra I might get from universal credit. I obviously need to call and speak to some one as online calculators simply arnt designed to take students into account, but the phone lines are always so busy I'm struggling to be able to have that conversation.

Money is going to be tight and I think I'm going to have to get rid of my car to save on money so ideally I'm going to have to live close to university. All the places I can find within the budget I'm aiming for are for rooms in shared accommodation. Is this even a possibility with DD if I found a room with an en suite or am I being completely bonkers?

PS I’m doing a medicine degree as an older student and single parent! Money etc is tricky but it feels worth it so far!

@WhereAreAllTheTeaspoons join this group , they are a charity and will work out your exact UC award for you.

Can you say which city?

Would you not be entitled to housing benefit if you find a flat for you and your toddler as you will be a single parent and in full time education..

I have a friend who has had some horrendous experiences with men via spareroom.com so I really wouldn't post on there advertising the fact that you're a single woman with a child.

I did a degree as a single parent. You will be fine op. You'll get student loan, childcare grant and possibility another grant from student finance. You can also claim uc. There is also help direct from uni in the form of hardship funds and housing support.
I managed to rent an expensive house and have a nice car. In fact its the best off I had ever been in my life. You'll be able to rent a flat or small house of your own.

I too studied when ds was little and have always been a sp

I had more money as a student than I did in first few years back at work

It was difficult but have lots of good memories when ds started school we did our homework together 😁

Op I do remember looking online when ds wasn’t little to find house shares with other single parents I can’t remember any sites shame as I think it’s a great way for some sp to live and to have support

But we stayed where we were and I got housing benefit and student loan (that i shall probably never pay off and it’s affordable taken straight from my wage)

Really you will be ok. Like other have said I was actually comfortably off. I know it’s daunting but absolutely worth it and there shall be many in the same position as you

Which uni will you be attending OP? I rented out a 3 bed house to 2 sisters both with a young female child. The 2 cousins shared a room. It worked out ok for them. Not all LL hate children and babies.

How about just renting out a room the normal way and see if people accept sharing with a toddler, alternatively, rent a two-bed flat and sublet one of the bedrooms. I would avoid going into a student house but there will be plenty of other people that would be happy to share with a toddler.

In your case, you're more like an adult learner doing a professional qualification rather than a regular student looking to party etc. Also, keep in mind that come September a lot of teaching will be done online, so you might not need to be as close to the campus as in normal years (even for stuff like medicine). There might also not be much socializing and drinking going on due to the virus.

I did house shares when my dd was small. I rented the house and then advertised. Only other single mums were interested but that was fine.

I’d only want to share with another single mum. I’d push the uni for advice on accommodation and any grants you may be eligible for. I did my post-grad with a mature student grant (from my local authority) and it was a life saver.

www.gov.uk/grant-bursary-adult-learners

I'm sure to get flamed for it but honestly, is now really the best time to spend 6 years studying?

The economy is fucked. You will spend years struggling to juggle money & study, study is likely to suffer.

People have this idea that it's the only way to improve your circumstances but actually university is an astonishingly inefficient approach to this - I went to a top university and know tons of people who regret it, they left with a mountain of debt they can shift and still only earn 25k (not a lot in the south east). University is an extremely costly form of education and we have too many graduates.

By contrast, a friend who had good enough a-levels for a decent uni course went to a corporate training program aimed at school leavers and is going brilliantly. She did an OU degree in her 40s purely because she wanted to, when she was earning good money and could do it without the stress of poverty.

I know its unhelpful but is uni really your only way to better yourself? If you have a toddler you cant be that old.

NoIDont.. I have thought it through so many times whether in doing the right thing going back into education, but i cant keep putting it off or i will be too old. I can either commit my self to minimum wage for the foreseeable because the economy is fucked or I can guarantee my self at least my student loan as income and then possibly have more potential at the end of it.

I put an ad out looking for shared accommodation, I've had a message back from a landlady so I'm going to give her a call, nothing to lose by having a chat about it I guess.

I feel a bit better knowing UC credit will top up my loan, even if i end up house sharing now at least i should be able to use that as a temp solution only as oppose to a permanent living situation.

Does your uni have any family accommodation? It's a long shot, and I know lots of unis have cut facilities, but at my old uni they had a small handful of flats on-campus for students with kids.