To move house for a drive way?

The only non negotiable i have, is i have to have at least a double driveway and a garage. so i absolutely would move for that if i were you.

Yes, for me, its something that I would choose to move over, especially with young kids.
Though when we bought our house, it was a non negotiable even before kids because the stress of being able to park was something I knew would impact my life.
As it happens we didn't realise how steep our driveway actually was and I bought a car with a dodgy handbrake which we can't afford to replace yet so I never get to park on our driveway. Luckily at the moment I can almost always park on the road outside our house as most houses do have a driveway (but of course there are way more cars than driveways). 2 of our neighbours are very old without cars though so I do worry about when they move on and people with 2+ cars move in.

One of the most important things on my list when I got a house was my own parking space. I got a drive, but now there's other ways of being inconvenienced.

If that's the only factor in you wanting to move, I would persevere

not necessarily!

I think YANBU but with a reservation. I do get why your husband doesn't see it as a problem because he doesn't do the child wrangling....maybe you could set things up so he gets a taste of it?? BUT I think not going out for fear of losing your space is perhaps a bit extreme? Have you looked at what you could get if you did move? Would you need to increase your mortgage and is this do-able or sensible in the current economic climate?

YANBU

Totally justified reason, me and my hubby moved from our old house for the purpose of a driveway and we have not regretted it!!

I would hope there would be other advantages to moving such as a big garden for the kids or bigger rooms etc 🙂 good luck! Xx

Same here. It was a bit of a pain before they could walk independently but when we moved when they were quite a bit older, we ended up buying a house with a garage (a nice extra that hadn't been on our must- have list) but no driveway. Mind you, parking is easier due to having a turning next to the house.

I couldn't imagine choosing a worse area just to get a driveway when in a few years the issue will be much diminished. Unless you have other reasons to want to move - another bedroom, closer to your preferred school etc.

Honestly, I get it. We used to live in an appartment with street parking, and ended up paying for a reserved spot to reduce the parking stress. And that was before children. After we've had our DC, I just couldn't. I'd end up staying home to avoid risking not being able to find a parking spot close by. I have a chronic illness that's not severe enough for a blue badge but bad enough that I'll spent half a day's worth of energy if I'm already fatigued and I end up in a difficult parking situation and have to ferry my 3-year-old DS around far, especially during bad weather. My DS is a lovely and easy child - he's just 3 years old, that's all. We have a house with a drive, and I'd definitely feel it's worth moving for.

A really nice thing about living on a terraced street with no room for driveways is that when they’re scooting age, you don’t have to worry about them getting hit by cars crossing the pavement.

I put the hazards on, block the road and empty my car of shopping/stuff when necessary, then go and park.

I agree with those who have said your fear will simply be transferred to someone parking across your driveway, trapping you in when you want to get out. Which will be far more inconvenient than having to walk 50 yards to your car.

Agree.

I live in a similar sounding place and often have to park 3 roads over. Inconvenient yes but doesn't stop us getting out and about.

We love the area we live in, the location is perfect for us. Just not drive/garage. But for us, the location is more important than having a private driveway, since we can still park nearishby.

Only you can decide what you can live with and what you can't. However there are a few considerations to bear in mind. One is that it is expensive to move: consider the costs, the upheaval, the time and effort involved and the change in type of location and setting that you may have to trade.

Having a drive is obviously better than not having one but it doesn't seem to solve all problems either. It is possible to move and then find that it's not how you imagined it would be. Or you will find that other things will annoy you more because you are still basically the same person who gets annoyed by whatever. And there can be plenty of annoyances with the behaviour of neighbours and vehicle owners.

Where I live people have drives but some don't use them and park in the street instead. It might be that the drives too narrow compared with the cars they now have, which are bulkier than when the houses were built thirty years ago. They have to manoeuvre to get in and leave room to open the doors or they can't get bins or shopping deliveries in or out if the car is parked there. Or they are lazy and can take off more quickly and easily from street parking. Or in some cases they want to use the drive for the children to play on, with basketball hoops installed, or cycle around on their trikes or scooters.

If you do decide to move, you may want to consider a large drive, maybe for two cars and with room to get around and between them, which in turn could mean a more expensive house and property rather than the equivalent of what you have now.

Because presumably OP has a car so they can drive places. If they are so scared of going anywhere for fear of losing a space that they choose not to go anywhere, why even bother having a car?

I get what you are saying as I'm on a similar street. And it was a pain when kids were young. But that passed pretty quickly and now it's not an issue. I certainly wouldn't move to a worse area though for a driveway!
Also, on the negative side, there was quite a spate of cars being stolen round here off driveways. I guess it's easy - you know who owns what car and you can just clone the keys or steal in to steal them. Obviously doesn't happen to everyone!

It depends how far away from your house you may have to park. Might residents’ parking help and could you campaign for it?

I think it depends. In London, zones 1-3, it’s an unreasonable expectation, elsewhere it’s probably something I’d insist on.

Agree, I would and HAVE moved from somewhere without allocated parking to somewhere with a driveway.
The difference to my quality of life is immense.
Nap transfers are risky enough without having to take them half way down the street and carry all the bags, or go back for the bags and risk leaving your child unattended. And I’m talking about ONE baby let alone two.
I absolutely hated not having any guaranteed parking when DD was born. Getting out of the house is so important when you have little ones- and stressful enough half the time- without adding to it.
Your husband’s response tells me exactly who is actually doing the bulk of the childcare.

Why is it?

I’m in the same situation, I’ll obsess over it too. It’s a shit situation and I would never buy a house without a driveway again!

I would never buy somewhere without a driveway. My brother lives in the poshest area of his town but his place doesn’t have a driveway. We live in a different city, nice area (not the most expensive) but it has a driveway. We wouldn’t have bought the house if it didn’t have one as it makes life so much easier. We’ve also got an EV though so needed a charger.

You are not being unreasonable, when I lived without a drive it was awful, and I was always anxious like you say about if there will be somewhere to park. Therefore, as soon as I was financial able I moved to a house with a driveway and its wonderful. There is also space for a visitor too so I no longer have to worry about them. My parking anxiety extends to anywhere, if I'm travelling to a meeting or an event, I have to know options.

I’m completely with you OP, if you’re using a car regularly lack of parking is really stressful. Driveway (non shared) was non negotiable for our last move.

Not leaving your house because you’re scared of losing your parking space is incredibly irrational.

We moved earlier than anticipated because of the no driveway. I had to double park, unload the bags or shopping and leave the car seat and baby (pre Madeline McCann) in the house whilst I drove up the street to park. We’d part exchanged (for speed) and moved by the time he was 3 months old as I couldn’t stand the worry of leaving a new born strapped in a seat in the lounge. But try carrying a car seat and baby at least 200m. He was heavy. It was awful.

Your dh won’t understand because he’s not the one with the stress.

Professional help 🤣🤣🤣

Lots of people don't do things for a variety of different reasons and weighing up whether a trip out is worth the hassle of managing young children can definitely be one of those.

Different people have different battles.

If you like the house and area I would be hesitant to move just to get a driveway. I totally get it's a complete pain when the kids are small but they will grow up soon and it will be much less of an issue. Could you make things easier by buying a pull along shopping trolley to take things from car to house?