Living with a partner can be great for companionship and support, but it can also be challenging when you have different lifestyles. This is what one woman shared online.
Here’s her story:
I’m 28 and bought my house 5 years ago with money from my great aunt who passed away. I was also saving for a home, so I used the money to buy a house and pay off my student loans. I’m very grateful for that.
I bought a small house on a big lot, which was affordable back then because most people wanted big houses.
My boyfriend, 31, moved in a year ago and pays rent, but it’s much lower than he would pay elsewhere. Recently, he started complaining about how I run my house. He doesn’t like that I hang laundry outside or that I turned the front yard into a wildflower garden and clover lawn. He says it looks “ghetto,” even though he doesn’t spend time outside.
The biggest argument happened because I decided to get chickens. My city has a program that allows backyard chickens with a permit. I applied for 3 years and finally got it, so I built a coop last summer. My boyfriend refused to help, saying it would make the house look like a barnyard. I built it myself, and now he complains that he moved in to live in a house, not a farm. He claims the chickens will be disgusting, but our neighbor has chickens, and there are no weird smells or sounds.
Last night, I got 4 chickens and told him. He yelled at me for not listening to him. I got fed up and told him to move out if he can’t stand living with chickens. He got quiet and ignored me today. I think he doesn’t want to move out because of high rent elsewhere. He always says that because he pays rent, he should have a say.
Was I wrong for telling him to move out because he won’t let me do what I want on my own property? My house is finally looking like my dream home, and I put in a lot of work. I feel like he is intruding on my paradise and being very critical, which makes me want him to leave.
People stood on her side.
“You two are incompatible and should break up.”
“If he’s so concerned about how the place looks, he can go live in a bad apartment instead.”
“I think in a relationship people do need and communicate and share their vision for their futures. Y’all aren’t compatible. You want this house and to make it a certain way. He doesn’t. It’s time to move on for each of you.
