My adult son (he's 20) moved in [View all]

So, my wife and I bought a condo in a 1929 building that’s a 10-minute walk from Lake Michigan.

It’s a big one- bedroom with a formal dining room. Places we could afford seemed have either a second bedroom or a dining room, not both. And this place has a dining room we love.

But my son’s eBay reselling business didn’t work out as planned. He’s now in debt and couldn’t renew his lease without making things worse. So, now he has a job. But our beautiful dining room now has a queen-sized, a dresser, a desk and my son’s ridiculously large TV. Sigh. No more dinner parties for now.

Here’s the kicker. My 94-year-old father-in-law wants my son to move in with him, where he’d have his own room, rent free, for as long as he likes (My MIL died several months ago and the old guy wants company.) I thought that was a very generous offer.

My son appreciates the offer. But he says says that apartment (which is within walking distance of our place) reminds him too much of his grandmother, who we all miss terribly. He says it’d be sad and weird living there. Maybe it would.

I’m not sure what to do. The kid is not in college and doesn’t want to be. And he refuses to live with roommates, which means paying higher rent. His last apartment was tiny and not great.

He does make decent wages. But he doesn’t have a solid plan other than paying off his credit cards and figuring it out after that.

Also, while he and I get along well and spend a lot of time together, he and his mom have a strained relationship. The bicker a fair amount. That’s stressful on my wife and me.

I guess I don’t really expect advice. But if you have read this far, thanks for “listening.”