u/Mairon_the_Infinite

WIBTD if I moved out?

I'll do my best to keep this short, but I want to include all the context to be as fair as possible.

I (22NB) currently live with two friends from college, let's call them "Banana" (22M) and "Kiwi" (22NB). We lived together in our senior year, and when we graduated decided to move together to a city about an hour away. This was because both Banana and I were looking for work in that area, and since Kiwi has a degree that can find work anywhere (computer science), they didn't have a preference.

Since moving in together, things have gone downhill. It started with the move itself. I did all of the work to find us this place, including the initial search, traveling to tour the place, managing the deposit (which got lowered solely thanks to my credit, as my friends don't have credit), and negotiating the lease terms. Their reasoning was that I'm the one who knows how to do those things, and they don't (I did all of this for our last place, too). My family also did the bulk of the work to move us, including renting a van, cleaning our old apartment, and driving us, as Kiwi "forgot to ask their mom" for help (Banana's family lives across the country) and Kiwi cannot drive & doesn't have a car.

It's now been over 4 months. Banana found a job as a teacher, and he uses up all of his free time traveling back to our college city for fun, so he's rarely around to help around the house, aside from occasionally taking out the trash. Kiwi has done little to no work to find a job this whole time, saying they "just don't feel ready." They're clearly struggling with their mental health, but they refuse to get any help, even just going back to therapy, because "they're managing it on their own." I won't go into too many details for their privacy, but there have been times I've considered either calling their mom or wondered if they should go to the hospital. As for myself, my health has declined a lot (I have multiple disabilities and health problems), but I've still managed to find seasonal work.

I manage everything around the house, despite my limited physical capacity. I do most of the chores (dishes, cleaning, etc) as well as all the financial management. If I don't remind them, they will forget to pay rent. All the utilities are in my name, and they pay me back for their share. When I'm gone overnight, nothing gets done and I come home to a frankly disgusting kitchen. I finally put my foot down about groceries when I got on food stamps, and I refuse to buy them anything. Kiwi rarely ever leaves the house, even to go shopping. I'm pretty sure Banana buys all their food. They admit they spend most of the day either sleeping or scrolling on their phone. The one nice thing they do is begrudgingly feed my cats when I'm away. I deeply appreciate it, especially since they told me they don't expect to be paid. But there are times they've been angry at the cats for small things like jumping on the counter, and they will yell at them or even be physically forceful with them, which makes me uncomfortable.

I am exhausted and want to move out. Here's where the problem lies. We signed a 12 month lease, with me as the primary resident (since I'm the one with credit). If I move out, they would have to either split the rent between 2 people, so about a $400 increase for each of them, or find someone to sublet. Both of them have adamantly expressed that they don't want to sublet to a stranger, which I understand. The other option would be to somehow negotiate a lease break with our landlord and all move out at the same time (which will likely cost a lot of money). However, Banana has very little time to move because of his job, and I don't trust that they'll easily find a new place since neither of them have credit and one of them doesn't have an income (Kiwi's mom covers their expenses right now, but things are tight).

I feel bad for them, as we've been friends for years and I don't want to lose them over this. But the way it is now, we will end up no longer friends because of how they treat me. Since living here, I've been re-diagnosed with depression, and my care team is concerned about my health because of everything I take on for the household despite my condition. I should also mention that my dad, who helps me pay for my expenses, supports the idea of me moving as long as I can negotiate terms that aren't too expensive, and he has the same concern about my friendships.

I have someone to move in with, and I can afford the lease amendment fee, so it's really tempting to just get out now. I'm torn as to what I should do. Should I wait a few months for them to find a new place, and all move out at the same time, or should I bail on them and make them face the harsh consequences? I'm open to any and all advice.

TL;DR - my friends have been very disrespectful roommates, and my health has suffered as a result. I want to move out, but it would cost them a lot of money and potentially our friendship.

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u/Mairon_the_Infinite — 9 days ago