I'm glad it's not just me.
Two weeks is two too many for me. I could stand maybe a week of one person. One week is enough time to catch up with an old friend, enjoy their company, and have some fun. Beyond that it's just too much.
I like the "house guests are like fish... after 3 days, they start to smell."
I would tell guests straight up... "We are glad you're coming." then something about "you can stay only until June 27, then we have other company coming, so I'm afraid June 27 is all we can accommodate you for. Do you fly out the morning of June 27?" After that, they're out. I don't care if they extend their vacation-- if I didn't offer my house past a set date, they're not staying at my house.
I lived with multiple roommates at once point. One girl would have her sister come for a week, then the next month have the cousin for a few days, then repeat this over and over again. I replaced this roommate, and had a new lease drawn that limited the number of overnight guests per roommate to 3 nights per month max. That worked since the other roommates rarely had guests stay over.
With a spouse, I would have a similar solid rule that we set upon moving in together. If the house guest is not my child, parent, or in-law, 2 weeks is way off limits. Maybe a week for a cousin, but friends? Bah. No. If they can afford to travel, they should be able to get a hotel or split nights among friends houses or couchsurf. I'm not the Hilton hotel. If a friend's house burned down or something, I would try to put up with more than a week.... but I couldn't tolerate months. I would probably try to help them find other arrangements then donate some furniture/things to them instead of offering to let them stay with me. A friend who is traveling around for weeks or months on end doing nothing but playing all day doesn't garner my sympathy. Some people enjoy helping out friends with letting them stay there, but I don't. If I want to be charitable, I'll volunteer outside of the home or donate money. I need my sanctuary and home, and pay for it.
I had a friend once in college who would travel internationally all summer, calling some friend of his in whatever city he wanted to spend the rest of the summer in. A few summers he called me asking if he could come stay with me that night. Um, no. If someone can afford such travel, they should find a way to afford housing. And, he did this every summer. He could have flown to his parents and stayed with them for the summer free, but he instead chose whatever city he wanted to spend the summer in, then expect his friends to give him free housing all summer. He stayed in a mutual friend's apartment one summer. He made a mess, ate her food, drank her wine, and didn't help with costs or cleaning at all.
My relatives enjoy house guests. I don't understand it. They let people stay for months free and eat their food and do nothing. Sometimes the people will have some part-time temporary job in the area, other times the person is an unemployed bum. Get a job, get your own apartment, and don't take advantage of friends. Someone who is in the area for, say, 3 months should "man up" and get a temporary rental apartment, not sponge off a friend for free rent for months. Like I said, it's kind that other people help out people by opening up their home as a hotel... but that's just not in my nature.
More people means more noise, less personal space, shared kitchen and everything else, more utility cost, them likely eating our groceries so more expense there, etc.
25 Jun 2012, 8:39 am
