‘I just don’t want to change the way we live’: Parents refuse to allow son and his girlfriend to move into their vacation home in Ireland, son goes dark on communication

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Apr 27, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Why is it that even if you give your children all of the tools to make a comfortable life for themselves, they still ask for more? Surely, as their parent, you want to give them as much as possible so they live a stress-free life full of promise and lots of capital. However, you don't want to give up the things you love, even in adulthood, just because your kids want to take the easy way out, right?

If you're lucky enough to have a second home—an idyllic paradise—then you know how absurd it is to be asked to let it go. You worked hard for what you have, and you don't want to sacrifice your happy place just so your entitled kid can play house in it year-round. Here at Memebase, we usually highlight the entitled parents. This time, we're baffled to share that these parents are completely in the right. Everyone has to make sacrifices, but that doesn't have to include giving up a space you cherish because your son told you to. Scroll below to read the full story.

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  • "It's part of our retirement plan to live there year-round..."
    via Curated Lifestyle For Unsplash+

  • The kid in question has his stuff figured out with his girlfriend—he just wants to see what living would be like in the countryside. They want to save money, which is understandable. But, expecting your parents to give up a sentimental piece of their lives comes off a bit tone-deaf. Especially given the fact that he's now punishing them with silence…

  • "Am I being unreasonable for not letting my son and his girlfriend live at our camp year-round?"

    I'm 50. We have a camp I inherited from my grandparents just outside Killarney that's been in the family since before I was born. It's always been a place for summers, long weekends, and
    via ApexMegalodon
  • the odd winter trip if the road's good. My wife and I still spend most of the summer up there, same way my parents and grandparents did. That's just how it's always been. Our kids grew up with that rhythm too.
    via ApexMegalodon
  • We've got a couple of labs who come with us wherever we go, and the camp is no exception. They're part of the family. They sleep on the furniture, on the bed, wherever they want really.
    via ApexMegalodon
  • We keep the place clean, sweep and vacuum daily when we're there, but if you've had dogs, you know there's always going to be some hair. That's just how it is. We don't really think twice about it.
    via ApexMegalodon
  • My son's 22. He and his girlfriend have been living in the city since he finished school last year. A few weeks ago he asked if they could move up to the camp full-
    via ApexMegalodon
  • time. Not just for the summer, but for the whole year. Said they want to try living outside the city, save money, get out of the cycle of rent and roommates and all that.
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  • I told him no. If they wanted to come stay during the summer while we're there, like always, that'd be fine. There's space, and they're always welcome. But I'm
    via ApexMegalodon
  • not comfortable handing over the place full-time. It's still very much in use. It's where we go to unplug, where the dogs can run free, where we don't have to adjust how we live to make someone else comfortable. And
    via ApexMegalodon
  • I'll be honest, his girlfriend has made a few comments in the past about the dogs, usually in that kind of joking-but-not-really tone. "There's so much hair" or " don't know how you let them on the couch." That kind of thing.
    via ApexMegalodon
  • Cheezburger Image 10497907456
    via Josh Hild For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • It's not personal. I just don't want to change the way we live at the one place that still feels like ours. Especially when it's part of our retirement plan to live there year- round, at least until our health determines otherwise. It's not
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  • about not supporting them, but I don't think they fully get what they're asking for either. Living up there year-round is different than visiting. There's a lot more to it.
    via ApexMegalodon
  • He didn't argue it, but we haven't talked much since. I don't think he sees it as a big deal, but to me, it is.
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  • So now I'm wondering if I'm being too rigid, or if I'm just protecting something that still has meaning the way it is.
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  • TinyRascalSaurus NTA. Once they move in, it will become their space, and you will always feel like visitors and like you're in someone else's home.
    via TinyRascalSaurus
  • His situation isn't dire. He's not homeless or struggling or in desperate need of shelter. He simply doesn't want to continue dealing with rent and roommates. That may not be an ideal situation for him and his girlfriend, but it's not an emergency where they need other accommodations now.
    via TinyRascalSaurus
  • Good-Assistant-4545 You are entitled to use the property as you see fit. It is not your responsibility to make your son and his girlfriend's life work. They can buy or rent their own place.
    via Good-Assistant-4545
  • moverene1914 Hold your ground. My family had a lake house that all enjoyed at various times throughout the year. They let one son move in and he never moved out and it kind of ruined things for everyone else.
    via moverene1914
  • Imchatterbox NTA. That is your second home. If you let it become his girlfriend's home home, it will never feel like your vacation space again.
    via lmchatterbox
  • 85MonteCarloSS NTA - Killarney is a beautiful place and the whole family should be able to enjoy the cottage without feeling like they're intruding in someone's home or hearing about dog complaints when you decide to go to your own cottage. I'd have done the same.
    via 85MonteCarloSS

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family dynamics family drama aita entitlement reddit story family feud parenting entitled people karma entitled family reddit thread Reddit son parents children entitled people vacation
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