'So Upsetting': Man Backed for Keeping Sister From Living in Guest House

Thousands of commenters scoffed at one 24-year-old woman after she expressed her frustration with not being allowed to live in her brother's guest house.

In a viral Reddit post published on r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/idkthroaaway (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said she was promised residence in the guest house but explained how her brother and sister-in-law recently decided their 19-year-old son should live there instead.

Titled, "[Am I the a**hole] for telling my [sister-in-law] I needed the guest house more than her son?" the viral post has received nearly 6,500 upvotes and 3,700 comments in the last day.

Writing that she moved in with her brother and his family (which includes six children ranging from 1 to 19 years old) after her previous relationship soured, the original poster said she has her own space in the family's home but detailed the pitfalls of her current living arrangement.

"After my 4-year relationship ended, I had nowhere to go and I asked my brother if he could help me out," she wrote. "He invited me into his house. They have a guest house which he said I could stay [in] but he said it needed renovations first so I got a room in the main house."

"While my brother and his family are quite comfy...they are loud and I prefer a quiet space," she continued. "The house is quite huge and I have my own bedroom but it is just awful honestly. [Sister-in-law] is a [stay at home mom] and she is great with the kids...but they are just too much and too loud."

Despite her belief that she'd be moving into the guest house upon the completion of her brother's renovations, the original poster said her sister-in-law revealed the couple's intentions to move their oldest son into the space.

"Renovations happened and [sister-in-law] has been saying her oldest child should move in so he can have his own space," she wrote. "I spoke to my brother since I thought I'd get it but he told me his son needs space."

"I went to [sister-in-law] and asked her about it last night and she told me no," she continued. "I explained it to her and she still said no. I told her I needed it more. The kids had everything handed down to them and my brother told me I could stay at the guest house."

"It's just so upsetting," she concluded.

In July 2020, the Pew Research Center reported that 52 percent of young adults in the United States were living with their parents or other family members, the highest mark since the Great Depression.

Although that number has dipped below 50 percent in the last year, 18 percent of U.S. households are multigenerational, a figure Fortune reports is the highest in the country's history.

Due to overwhelming student debt, an inflated real estate market and the aftermath of COVID-related restrictions which permanently transformed the job landscape for many young adults, a substantial portion of Generation Z remains (or has regressed to being) reliant on previous generations for housing and other necessities.

At the beginning of her viral Reddit post, the original poster explained that her brother is 16 years older than she is, and that the two were never close due to such a wide age gap. However, the original poster also said that her brother welcomed her into his home with open arms—something many Redditors said she should be more grateful for.

Throughout the viral post's comment section, Redditors pointed out to the original poster that her brother had been more than generous to allow her to live with him and his family, and that her issue with his oldest son moving into his guest house could be resolved easily.

"Move out if you want your own space, you are an adult and your brother shouldn't have to support you," Redditor u/goldensand16 wrote in a comment which has received nearly 8,000 votes.

"Unless you have a lease and pay rent for the guest house it's their house/guest house [and] they decide who gets it," they continued. "Honestly sounds like they have a 7th child."

"You're upset that your aid package isn't larger. Your brother is under no obligation to house you, let alone provide you with the guest house," Redditor u/tosser9212 added in the post's top comment, which has received more than 26,000 votes.

In a separate comment, which has received more than 5,600 votes, Redditor u/destuck offered a similar response.

"It's their house. They choose what to be done with it. End of story," they wrote. "You begged for a place to stay when sh*t hit the fan. Despite not being close, he/they still took you in."

"It's not good enough for you? Then move out," they added.

Newsweek reached out to u/idkthroaaway for comment.