We all have our ways of responding to simple questions like this one; ‘Where do you stay?’ Usually, answers to questions like this are straightforward since they are about the person you are asking.
Everyone should know where they stay. However, there may be reasons to not give a straightforward answer.
When the person being asked is not great at giving descriptions, you won’t be getting a straightforward answer.
You also won’t get a straight answer if he or she is not willing to tell you. Another reason is you are probably not supposed to know that.
A response you can get to this question is ‘How is that important?’, then you will have to explain why you are asking and why it has to be answered.
Below is a compilation of 15 Responses with clarified contexts in which they work.
15 Best Responses to “Where do you stay?”
- I can’t tell you that.
- Why do you need to know?
- None of your business
- In my house. Duh.
- It’s far from you. You can’t find it.
- Can you just follow me?
- Why would I tell you that?
- It is pretty far from here.
- How exactly is that important?
- I’m not good at giving descriptions.
- Tell me where you stay first.
- I don’t give random people info about me.
- What will you do with that information?
- You can’t think of any other question?
- What? You want to find me?
I can’t tell you that
It is totally normal to be uncomfortable with revealing information about where you live.
You can give this response when you are asked this question. You can also expect this response when you ask a person.
For certain understandable reasons, You may find it absurd that a particular person is saying this to you.
For the same understandable reasons, a person may find it absurd that you are giving this response to him or her.
One of these reasons has to do with the relationship between the two of you.
If you are talking to someone you know very well, it is very weird to want to hide information about where you live.
What is special about where you stay when the person knows everything about you? You will also find it absurd if you asked a close friend where he or she stayed and this is the response you get.
If you have to use this response for someone close to you, it has to be a reason that is understandable to your friend or whoever you are speaking to.
Why do you need to know?
It is also okay to just ask why. However, this may get a person pissed, just as you can get pissed when a close friend asks you this.
This response may also sound really absurd if you already know the house of the person you are talking to. ‘Why do you know my house and I can’t know yours?
There should be a reason for asking this question. One of the plausible reasons you may have for asking this question has to do with the relationship between the both of you.
Are you talking to a stranger or someone you don’t know really well? Then it is okay to ask this question. The person may also have good reasons to know so you can listen.
You may also be registering for a program and this question is asked. You can respond by asking why the person needs to know. Possibly, the question may not even be important for what you are registering for.
None of your business
The question is not something that should concern many people. Where you stay is your business and you should only tell people who need to know.
Therefore, you can give this response if you think it is not something that the person should care about. This is quite insulting though.
This may be coming from someone who is wooing you and has no other questions to ask from you.
This response, however, will sound like an insult so you should only say this if you don’t care how he or she feels. If you really care not to sound insulting, this is not an option for you.
You can choose the first suggestion on this list: “I can’t tell you that. You don’t need to know.”
In my house. Duh.
Here is a savage response to a question of where you reside. This is not an answer, at least not the expected answer, and it will sound quite dismissive. ‘Duh’ is always considered rude.
When you give this response, you are implying that you obviously live in your house and that is all he or she needs to know.
In other words, you are not willing to give descriptions to him or her or you are just not interested in the chat.
You don’t want to say this in a formal situation when you are the one being assisted. For example, some registrations can require you to answer this question.
You can employ a more polite manner of response when refusing to answer.
It’s far from you. You can’t find it.
You can say this to a person who may be trying to find your place. We don’t want just any person visiting us.
Admit it or not, there are certain people you enjoy having around you and there are people who just seem tiring.
When you say this, you are obviously showing that you don’t want the person to know where you live and you are not planning to tell him or her anymore about your residence.
If you are talking to a friend or someone you still want around you, this response may sound like you are not interested in the relationship between the both of you.
Can you just follow me?
Yes, why can’t he or she follow you? You can ask and, maybe, he or she can actually follow you home. We know those we can give this response to.
You can’t just tell anybody where you live, not to talk of holding their hand and pulling it along with you to your house. You should only say this to someone you have no problem with having as a visitor.
You can’t say this in a formal situation where your address is only needed to fill out a form. You can say this to a friend or lover whom you are okay with having at your house.
You can also just say this to someone who you know actually needs to know your place and you can’t give descriptions.
Why would I tell you that?
This response suggests that you may suspect something. While it isn’t necessary, this response will be accurate if you believe the person should not be asking you this question.
There are people we are not okay with having at our place. The most understandable reason for refusing to say where you live is that you both are not close enough. If you are close friends, then this question may seem really absurd.
You may also be getting registered for a program and the person is asking you where you stay. When you ask this question, the person will be telling you why you must care about giving your address.
You are the one who needs to get registered and that will not happen if you don’t give the necessary details, which include your address.
It is pretty far from here
While this is not the answer to the question you are being asked, it may be all you need to say to the person asking.
You can give this response when talking about the distance between your house and where both of you are.
You may be talking about your inability to go home and return often. Why? You can say it is just a long distance.
The person may also be considering a quick visit. This response should discourage him or her from coming over to your place or following you.
How exactly is that important?
You can ask how important this particular info is to the situation. You may be going through a registration and you have certain questions to answer before the process can be completed.
Where you stay may be one of those questions. You may want to know why the program requires you to reveal where you live.
You can ask this question if you are talking to the owner of the program or, at least, someone who should be able to give you an answer.
With this, you will know what your address is needed for and the risks you may bear from answering this question correctly.
Sorry. I’m not good at giving descriptions.
Here is an idea of a response that only works in certain casual situations. You may have to get good at giving descriptions in some cases.
You can easily give this response to a persistent stranger or someone you just don’t want at your place. You may also say it to someone with the readiness to lead him or her to your place.
However, when you are getting registered for a program, you will either give your address or ask someone who knows your address.
Since you can’t suggest that the person follow you home, you will have to KNOW the address or cease the registration process.
Tell me where you stay first
Here is another example of a response that only makes sense in certain situations. You can’t just say this to anyone who asks you where you live unless you are intentionally being rude and sarcastic.
As mentioned earlier, it will seem weird to a friend whose house you know if you can’t tell him or her where you leave.
You can say this to a friend so you both know the homes of each other. You can also just say this to your new lover.
It is a childish statement so you should only say it to people who don’t mind how it sounds.
You can imagine asking this question while getting registered for a program. Of course, the person won’t reveal info about where he lives just so you can reveal info about where you live. It is totally up to you.
I don’t give random people info about me
This response is a correct one but it can also be extremely disheartening if you say it to the wrong person.
This statement talks about random people so you are indirectly calling him or her a random person when you say this.
It is only understandable if the person is actually a random person. It could be an acquaintance you are not so close to.
You should never say this to someone you call a friend. This will show that you don’t value the friendship between both of you.
What will you do with that information?
You can ask this question from virtually anyone but make sure you are asking rightly. If you are saying this to a friend, you can make it clear that you can only have visits at certain times.
In other words, you will still be giving him or her an address.
If you are saying this to someone you are not interested in being close to, you can make it clear that you don’t feel safe giving Information about where you live.
The same applies when you are doing a registration that asks about your address. You will be getting an assurance of safety.
You can’t think of any other question?
As mentioned earlier, this question may come from someone who is trying to woo you. He or she may simply be out of questions so unimportant questions can just keep coming.
You can ask this question if you realize that. Don’t sound like you are attacking. Just make it obvious that where you live isn’t an important part of the conversation.
If you want the conversation to continue, you can suggest something interesting yourself.
What? Do you want to find me?
Say this if you are talking to someone on a phone or on social media. When he or she asks about where you stay, the person may want to come to check on you. It may also be for no special reason.
Whether you give your address or not may depend on how close you are with the person and how willing you are to receive a visitor.