My sister (41) found someone to split the rent with before she moved abroad, but that lady ended up completely trashing her place. So she offered me (23) and my boyfriend (25) to move in instead. We initially turned her down since my boyfriend was unemployed at the time, but as time went by, we realized that it might be the best option for us. My sister wants us to move in by July and we agreed, but now I’m feeling guilty about leaving my aging parents behind.
My dad is 71 and has had a stroke and heart attack in the last decade, leaving him more frail than the average person his age. He also falls a lot, and we don’t know why. My mom is 62 and has osteoporosis. I worry about their well-being and safety, especially when it comes to tech and scams, and I feel like they might fall for scams easily without me there to help them.
I’ve already talked to them about moving to my sister’s place, but I don’t think they took me seriously. I’m scared to bring it up again and worried they’ll respond with reluctance once more. I know I need to move on with my life, but I still feel guilty about leaving them behind. Even though I’m only moving 20 minutes away from home, I still feel like I’m abandoning them.
As I get older, my parents do too, and I feel like I’ll never be able to move on with my life if I don’t do this. But it’s hard. I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing. I’m looking for advice on how to bring up the topic again and how to leave the nest without feeling guilty.
I understand that my parents aren’t that old, but their health issues make me worry about them. Also, everyone’s financial situation is different, and it’s rare for people in Western Europe to move out of their parents’ place unless they’re getting married. Not all of us are wealthy, and not everyone in the world moves out at 18 like in the US.