u/VirgoRomantics

I'm about to turn 37, and my wife is 34. We have both lived in Orange County, California, for pretty much our whole lives (my wife lived about 2 hours outside of Orange County until she was 10). We've moved to different cities within the county over the years, but I've always dreamed of living elsewhere. I thought college would get me out, then grad school, and then jobs after grad school, but good opportunities have always kept us here. Yesterday, I asked my wife to describe her dream home, and it wasn't here, and neither is mine. Every time we travel somewhere, we dream of what it would be like to live there. So why are we still here? I think it's fear. My family is here, and my wife worries about leaving our friends. Obviously, there are more fears like jobs, community, and just change in general. My wife woud need to find a job, but I can work anywhere.

If you moved for the first time in your mid-late 30s, what got you to move for the first time?

I stayed at a VRBO the other weekend, and it was a poor experience. Not the worst I've had, but I ended up having a guest leave because she didn't have anywhere comfortable to sleep. The listing said there were two sleeper sofas and bedding for all beds. There was an air mattress and a slippery leather couch. We could have been fine with the air mattress, but there was no extra bedding in the home. One of my guests used towels to sleep the first night, but said she couldn't do it a second night, so she went home.

There were a lot of little things that went wrong, but nothing detrimental. They said AC would be on when we got there, and of course, it wasn't. They said it would take two hours for the house to cool down, but it took five hours. We didn't complain because ultimately it was fine. The wifi didn't work, so no TVs in the home worked. We didn't complain about it since we had plenty of other things to do. But then they had additional guests in their back house and kept calling us to fix the wifi for them. It never worked, and it took hours out of our day.

Ultimately, I hate leaving bad reviews, but I sort of think we should get some money back because the guest couldn't stay. I have another VRBO booked in October, and I'm afraid that if I leave a bad review or ask for money back, I'll get a bad review back from the host, and it will impact my stay in October. I followed all the rules and was a good guest, but I did stop responding to the wifi after two hours. Is it a mistake to say something or ask for money back for that one guest?

A friend of mine is getting married. We lived together during the pandemic and spent a lot of time cooking, so this is a special thing for us. She is having her bachelorette party at the end of the month and asked if I would cook dinner for everyone on our last night. I want to make this a special meal for everyone, but especially her. What would you cook?

Some limitations: This is for a group of nine women. We will be staying at an Airbnb not far from my home, so I'd love to do as much prep as I can in advance and bring some things to cook with me. The bride loves all food and is very adventurous, but not all the other attendees are. These are foods that people in attendance are allergic to: fish, olives, and bell peppers. The bride and another person are lactose intolerant. Also, there is one pretty picky eater in attendance. I don't have to cater specifically to her, but I would like to make sure she has an enjoyable meal. Think someone so typically eats plain cheeseburgers with only ketchup, grilled cheeses, quesadillas, and chicken.