July 27, 2026 at 7:35 pm

He’s Ready For A Change—But His Wife Wants To Stay Put Until Their Son Goes To College

by Jayne Elliott

airplane flying over a house

Shutterstock

Imagine deciding that you want to move to a different part of town. You think it’s a great idea both because you like the other neighborhood better and because you could get more for your money. What would you do if your spouse refused to even consider moving?

In this story, one man is dealing with this exact situation. He is pretty desperate to move, but his wife won’t even consider it until their son is in college. Their son is 12, so that would be quite awhile.

What should he do? Should he give up his dream of moving? Is there a way for him to convince his wife to change her mind?

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

AITA for wanting to move to a condo across the neighborhood but spouse and kid don’t?

I’m generally happily married and have a great tween kid.

We live in a nice neighborhood in a big city.

Kid goes to a great school and is thriving.

There’s one thing about this house that really bothers him.

We’ve lived on the same block since my spouse and I moved in together, almost 20 years.

It’s not perfect but it was what we could afford then and the house now is nice.

However we are directly on the flight path for the airport. I mean the headlights of the planes sometimes literally light up our bedroom.

It’s awful and I hate the noise when this runway is in use (there’s another one on a different angle and so it’s thankfully not constant.)

He wants to move.

I want to sell the house and get a condo on the opposite end of the neighborhood.

It’s the “trendy restaurant and taco truck” area of the neighborhood and more pleasantly walkable generally but a bus or car ride to school.

It would not involve a school change for kid.

Kiddo has friends all over the neighborhood but none right on the block so I honestly don’t think a move would do harm.

The problem is that his spouse doesn’t want to move.

We have the money/equity to easily afford the switch, if anything we’d come out ahead: 2 full baths instead of 1.5, more modern construction, and financially we’d be ahead in terms of equity/affordability.

Yes it’s a condo so the basement and garage full of stuff have to go.

I see that as a plus and spouse sees that as a major undertaking that’s borderline existentially threatening.

Spouse is dead against this they moved as a middle schooler and it was awful. They were moved from a city to suburbs surrounded by cornfields and switched schools twice in 2 years.

He doesn’t want to wait to move.

I can’t seem to persuade the spouse that this would be better.

They won’t consider moving until kid is in college.

I don’t want to wait, the noise bothered me so much a few months ago I literally checked into a motel for a night to get some quiet so I can sleep.

AITA for wanting to move now with a 12 year old and not wanting to be miserable in this house for another six to ten years?

Hmmm. That’s a tough one. His feelings are valid. It sound like his spouse’s reasons for not wanting to move are a little unreasonable.

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

This is weird. You’d think he’d be over it by now.

2026 07 24 at 10.09.16 PM He’s Ready For A Change—But His Wife Wants To Stay Put Until Their Son Goes To College

Exactly!

2026 07 24 at 10.09.25 PM He’s Ready For A Change—But His Wife Wants To Stay Put Until Their Son Goes To College

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a disabled man who is considering cutting off his friends because they take advantage of him.

But this person thinks the wife isn’t thinking this through.

2026 07 24 at 10.10.05 PM He’s Ready For A Change—But His Wife Wants To Stay Put Until Their Son Goes To College

He wants to move. His wife doesn’t. They would have to be on the same page.

They both have their reasons for how they feel, but after all this time, it might be worth it just to stay put. If the airplanes are the only problem, surely he can get some blackout curtains or something.

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Jayne Elliott | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Jayne Elliott is a contributing writer and editor for TwistedSifter specializing in human interest stories, internet culture, and family dynamics. With over 12 years of editorial experience in digital publishing, Jayne excels at analyzing complex online communities and transforming viral social debates into thoughtful, highly engaging narratives.

Rather than simply aggregating internet drama, Jayne brings a sharp, empathetic editorial eye to everyday dilemmas. She has a unique talent for unpacking the nuances of pop culture and online conflicts, providing readers with relatable, well-researched commentary.

Based in California, Jayne spends her free time outside the newsroom exploring theme parks with her family or beach-combing along the coast.

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