Anonymous wrote:OP doesn't appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer and her friends aren't very nice people. You don't have to hang on to high school and college friends forever.
Joinna MeetUp group or a social club or a church
Anonymous wrote:Just say you already feel bad about it, any embarrassing comments aren’t going to make you a chef, enlarge your place, lessen your work load or increase your budget to buy furniture and equipment. You need her support, not her unproductive criticism. If it’s such a burden for her, she too can stop hosting and y’all can meet outside or outdoors and share costs.
Anonymous wrote:Why is everyone saying OP should "host" e.g. pay for meals for all her friends who have husbands etc? There is clear wealth disparity between her and her married friends who are married to bankers. I would never expect a friend who lives in a crappy studio cover my and my husband's restaurant check under any conditions
Anonymous wrote:That’s usually what I do already. Last time we got together I picked up and paid for pizza for everyone and we went to their place. She made a side comment “you couldn’t be bothered to cook something?”
Anonymous wrote:By host she means pay. It costs a lot of money to have people over. Host in a bar and pick up the tab.
Anonymous wrote:The responses here are sort of astounding.
Her friends behavior is a classic boundary violation. It amazes me that so many people are missing this. The OP has a boundary that she doesn’t like to host dinners in her apartment. It is her life. She gets to decide that.
The friend can decide whether she wants to have a reciprocal boundary — not hanging out with her anymore because of it. It is her life. She gets to decide that.
But it is absolutely a boundary violation for the friend to force the OP to do things that the OP doesn’t want to do. The OP also doesn’t need a good reason either — it can simply be her preference.
My wife and I never host people at our house for dinners. It is not our thing at all. We even have a big house — not a small apartment There is nothing wrong with that.