I am a newly divorced mom of 2 young boys, age 5 and 2.5.

We live in a great apartment near Shirokanedai, a huge 3LDK with a garden, across the street from a very good Japanese elementary school, and next door to a park. Our rent is almost 400,000yen/month. The whole space is about 120sq.meters.

My ex-husband (who used to support our family) has withdrawn his support. I will start working full time in the fall, and the kids will go to hoikuen. Though this situation has been stressful, we are all doing fine, and getting on with our lives.

Of course, I can no longer afford our apartment, and am looking for more affordable housing now. But, to be honest, I am loathe to leave this great space, which is so beautiful and good for kids, with its garden and proximity to schools.

And, though it is a longshot, I wonder if there is another single parent out there who would be interested in sharing this space with us, creating a positive, affordable, communal situation for ourselves and our kids? If it was the right person, we could split the rent (around 200000yen each), and the living space (there is plenty), and even share some parenting/daily responsibilities.

As I write this, I realize how unlikely it is to find a good match (this relationship would be much more intense than just roommates, since our kids would be spending a lot of time together, sharing values, problems, etc!). But if the right family is out there, and looking for an alternative to the usual struggle, please contact me.

Some more information about us:
I am 34 years old, from New York. I am an artist, videographer and teacher. I am not a typical mommy-type of person (people who meet me without my kids are often surprised to find out that I am a mom). I am into reading books, seeing performance, hearing bands, exploring new stuff.
I will start a new full-time job in October, but from now until then I am not working. I am a very social person; I have friends in Japan, and I enjoy being around people. I believe in the power of community, and its positive effect on kids.

I really love my kids, love living with them in Japan, and watching them become proficient in Japanese. In terms of raising kids, I am very flexible, but strict only about TV (we don't have one and I wouldn't want one in the house) and respecting others (sharing, saying please & thank you, etc). I like to see the kids have fun. We have a lot of books & a guitar & a piano (which gets "played" a lot). We cook mostly western food, with some asian dishes (we eat a lot of rice) too.

My sons are fully American (their dad is, like me, American). They can be charming and rambunctious. The 5 year old speaks Japanese quite well, and the 2 and 1/2 year old is learning. They are not shy, can be quite loving to friends, and like to do projects. Of course, they have their share of fighting and running around. They both love music.

Ideally, what we seek is:
A single mom (a single dad is possible too) with 1 child. (2 is possible, but more than 2 is too many in this space). Any nationality is fine with us :-).
Your child should be older than 2years old. It would be ideal if your child is about to enter elementary school (since we live literally across the street from a great school!). Hopefully you are relaxed, enjoy your kid(s), are comfortable around others, young at heart, respectful, and enjoy education of all kinds. If you are into watching TV, or video games, we are probably not a good match. Since this would be an intense situation, you should be able to communicate well, so that any problems or issues can be worked out between us.

The perfect relationship would be a family one: our kids would share this household, and we could share parenting responsibilities from time to time (e.g. after the kids are asleep I stay home with them while you are free to go out, or we take turns buying groceries, etc.), making both of our lives easier and more fun.

If you think this situation is what you are looking for, contact me. Of course, the first steps would be to hang out together and see if we hit it off, and more importantly, if our kids hit it off. If not, nothing lost.

Thanks for reading this!
contact me at:
g u m s h o e g l u z m a n (at) e z w e b. n e . j p