I Made My Elderly Parents Choose between Living in My Garage and a Nursing Home

After a woman agreed to have her parents move in with her, she found they weren’t happy with their living arrangements. She then made them choose between living with her or in a nursing home.

A woman on Reddit shared that she was a single widow living in her house alone as all her children had moved out. Although she lived in a five-bedroom home, she only had two functional bedrooms as she had converted the other rooms into offices and hobby spaces.

However, she knew she would need somewhere for her children to stay when they visited, so she converted her garage into a guest house with everything needed, including a private entrance.

She told her children that when they stayed at her home for the holidays, they would need to stay in the guest house. Her children readily agreed; however, the plans soon changed when her parents asked for help.

What Happened with the Woman’s Parents?

Although the woman had created the guest house with her children in mind, her parents asked if they could move in with her. She agreed to have them stay with her and even told her children.

She clarified that she let her children know their grandparents would be moving into the guest house and that they would have to stay in the house if they wanted to stay over. The children agreed.

When moving day came for her parents, the woman’s children arrived at her house to help move their grandparents into the garage. Her children organized that one family would stay in a hotel to make the place manageable.

However, her parents were confused when the family started moving their belongings into the garage. The woman clarified that that was where her parents would be living. She said:

“They thought they could move into my house since I have five bedrooms.”

The woman explained that she only had two bedrooms since she had converted the others into offices and hobby spaces. The spare bedroom she had was mainly reserved for her dogs.

What Did the Woman’s Parents Say?

When the woman told her parents that she hadn’t expected them to want to live in the house and had anticipated them taking the garage space, which had its own washroom and kitchen, her parents were unhappy.

And although the guest house had everything needed to live a happy life, the woman’s parents were still disappointed and upset. She lamented:

“They said that they wanted to live in the house, not out in the garage like Fonzie.”

The woman told her parents they had no choice but to live in the garage. She then clarified that they could move into the room she had prepared for them or a nursing home elsewhere.

The woman was shocked that her parents were upset about living in a private garage that was up to code and didn’t have to pay any rent. She soon got comments from other Reddit users commiserating with her.

One user said the woman’s parents sounded spoiled and that if she let them live in her house with her, they would own it, and she would never be able to get them out.

Another commenter thought the woman’s parents wanted to live in the main house so she could cook and clean for them rather than them having to do it for themselves. One user shared that her friend had done something similar for far more grateful parents, saying:

“My friend recently turned her shed into a beautiful guest house, kitchen appliances, private bathroom, the works, her parents are currently living there, and they don’t have a problem with it. They like the privacy, and they like being close to their child.”

However, some people thought the woman should have clarified everything with her parents from the beginning. Some told the woman she should tell her parents they could occasionally visit her in the main house but needed to respect her boundaries.