To start, let me say that I understand that many people in this community view family life as an albatross. I respect and completely understand that perspective - by all means, go live your life as you see fit. I'm addressing this post to men who genuinely want to have children but are unwilling to commit themselves to a woman in order to make this happen. I'm wondering if any men have considered (or potentially go through with) adoption.

Just some background on me: I married young but my wife passed away before we could have children. It took me a while to get over that ... and by the time I re-entered the dating scene in my late 20s, I found slim pickings. I always imagined myself as the patriarch of a 1950s-style nuclear family, but now that I'm in my early 30s I realize that's increasingly unlikely to happen. Indeed, given the current status of marriage and divorce laws, as well as the low quality of women in general, I lean toward the general consensus of this board that it's not desirable.

So where does that leave a man who wants a family but is determined to avoid the pitfalls of marriage and relationships with women? Every US state allows unmarried men to adopt, and I would be surprised if there was a western country where this was not permitted. I'm certainly not trying to minimize the effort or commitment this would involve, but I'm increasingly viewing it as a viable option for the future.

Anyone else have similar thoughts?