Parent Says They Changed Their Mind About Moving 'Next Door' to Pregnant Daughter: 'I'm Not Doing That'

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock photo of parents with pregnant daughter.Photo:Getty

Getty

One parent has taken to Reddit to share why they don’t want to move closer to their pregnant daughter, even though their wife does.

In a recent post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——?,” a 44-year-old parent wrote that they currently live in Alaska with their wife, 43, while their pregnant daughter, 22, and her husband, 24, live in the Lower 48 region of the U.S.

The parent shared that originally, the couple — who both have the flexibility when it comes to work — had planned on buying a “duplex next door” to their daughter. The Redditor went on to share that the move would also allow their wife to be closer to most of her family.

However, “after much consideration” the parent wrote that they just had to say, “I’m not doing that.”

“I’m happy to travel back and forth as often as we like to visit, but I’m keeping my home here,” they wrote. “I don’t want to live there… next door to my daughter. I raised her to be able to build and live her own life, and I don’t want to follow her around. I built my life, I want to live it.”

The parent went on to explain that due to being a military family, their daughter and her husband will “be moving several times in the next 8-10 years.”

Additionally, the Redditor didn’t want to leave their dad behind, who is “in poor health.”

Another factor behind the decision? The parent said that the couple relocated to Alaska from California a decade ago, a move that their wife pushed for.

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“I’m not opposed to buying the duplex. I can afford to own it and my home in Alaska, but I told my wife to come and go between there and here as often as she likes," the Redditor wrote. “But this is my home, and this is where I’m going to stay.”

“You’re not telling her she can’t go! The two of you are literally buying another home right next to the daughter, and you are keeping the home you have in Alaska - which is where your current business is located," read one comment, as another reply read, “I think your solution is literally the best of both worlds.”

Yet another reply wondered what the couple’s daughter thought about the idea — not to mention her husband. “Does the son-in-law have any say in this? He may not want his in-laws living next door," the commenter wrote, who ultimately suggested to “let daughter know you love her and are excited about the new grandchild but you each need to live your own lives.”

source: people.com