Watching a friendship slowly unravel over dirty dishes and cat litter drama is one thing. Getting asked to fill the vacancy once it finally collapses is a whole different level of awkward.

One woman has spent months hearing her best friend vent about her roommate, ranging from unwashed dishes and an unclean bathroom to more invasive complaints like snooping through her bedroom and wearing her clothes without permission.

The apartment situation escalated further with a trashed gathering left uncleaned, a wet mop abandoned in her friend’s bedroom for an entire weekend, and a rotating cast of guys eventually replaced by a boyfriend who’s now a near-permanent fixture.

With one friend planning to move out by year’s end due to the constant fighting, the roommate left behind has now asked the woman hearing all these complaints to move in as her replacement.

And she wasn’t too keen on the idea at all.

Keep reading for the full dilemma.

Friend wants me to move in with her but i know we won’t get along, how do i tell her?

So two of my best friends live together in an apartment, we’ll call them Friend 1 and Friend 2.

It’s been pretty nonstop drama.

Since they moved in together, Friend 1 has been complaining to me that Friend 2 isn’t cleaning up after herself, always leaving dirty dishes all over the place, and when she does wash them she doesn’t wash them properly, doesn’t clean the bathroom, doesn’t want to take the trash out, snoops in Friend 1’s bedroom, and wears her clothes without asking.

They both have cats, and Friend 2 is constantly complaining that Friend 1’s cat is using her cat’s litterbox, when both cats use both litterboxes.

They’ve been squabbling about other things too.

Friend 2 has had people over once who trashed the whole place and didn’t clean it up afterwards. She also once threw a wet mop in Friend 1’s bedroom and left it there over the weekend. She also constantly had guys over until she got a boyfriend, and now the boyfriend is there all the time.

And Friend 2 has also been complaining, but her complaints are just that Friend 1 is almost never at the apartment.

The two friends just can’t seem to reach a resolution on anything.

Whenever Friend 1 brings up the issues, they end up fighting with each other, which has led Friend 1 to wanting to move out end of the year.

But now the formally neutral friend finds herself in a tough spot.

Since there’s a big possibility of me getting a job in the city they live in, Friend 2 has asked me if I will move in after Friend 1 moves out, because it would be so convenient since I would need to move to the city anyway and it would be cheaper than living by myself.

I don’t know how to tell her I don’t want to live with her because we are good friends. I need advice on what to tell her.

Sounds like the smart thing to do is to stay as far away from this mess as possible.

What did Reddit think?

A simple, well-placed “no” speaks for itself.

Living with a friend isn’t something this reader recommends.

It’s best to keep her story simple.

Sometimes you don’t always owe someone an explanation.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a grandson who is tired of driving 5 hours one way to work on his grandparent’s investment property for free.

Every detail in this story points to the same conclusion: this isn’t a roommate mismatch, it’s a pattern of behavior that would likely repeat with anyone unlucky enough to move in next.

Dishes left dirty even after “cleaning” them, an unattended bathroom, snooping, borrowed clothes without asking, a trashed apartment, and a wet mop left forgotten in someone’s room for days aren’t isolated incidents at all.

Saying no doesn’t have to come with a detailed list of grievances, just an honest acknowledgment that living together could put unnecessary strain on the friendship.

Sometimes the best way to protect a close relationship is by keeping enough distance.