AITA for telling my boyfriend there’s more to life than the suburbs?
I (32F) have been with my boyfriend (34M) for 7 years. I have two kids from a previous relationship, and because of work/school/life, we live out in the suburbs.
Growing up, I loved traveling. I even did a 6 month study abroad program in high school. But I got pregnant young, and between parenting and finances, I really haven’t had the chance to travel since.
My boyfriend is basically the opposite. He’s never really cared about travel, and honestly considers going out of state for a day trip to be a huge event. Normally that would be fine, except I still follow a lot of friends and acquaintances on Instagram who travel constantly, go to amazing restaurants/bars, etc. One of my friends is always posting from these incredible cocktail bars around the world, and I genuinely enjoy seeing it. It lets me live a little vicariously.
The issue is that every time I try to show my boyfriend a post or picture, he acts annoyed. He’ll barely look up, give one word responses, or just ignore me completely. It’s not like he’s super busy either, usually he’s just cooking, scrolling his phone, checking emails, whatever.
Last night it turned into an argument because I tried showing him a picture and he completely brushed me off. I asked why he always reacts that way, and he admitted that he hates seeing those posts because they make him jealous. He said seeing people travel and experience things we can’t afford just makes him feel bad about his own life.
I got frustrated and told him he wouldn’t understand because he’s never really experienced much outside our area, and that even though we’re “stuck” in the suburbs right now, life has so much more to offer. I said following these accounts helps me stay connected to the world and scratches my travel itch a little.
Now he says I basically told him his life isn’t enough and that I’m blaming him for the choices we made together.
From my perspective, I just want him to take some interest in the things I care about instead of shutting me down every time. AITA?