An AIBU containing parking AND neighbours!

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

I want to know whether IABU or DH.

We have new neighbours who, shock horror, have three cars. We live in a row of five little cottages, each with room outside for one car (no lines or bays, just our rigid Britishness!)

The new neighbours are parking wiggledy piggledy, taking up three spaces in the row. I fear DH may have some sort of seizure if it continues

Now assuming they pay road tax and council tax, I think they have every right to park where they like, however inconsiderate to their neighbours it may be. DH is apoplectic at this view, citing etiquette, good manners, consideration, general harmonious relations and so on.

So who is BU? (apart from the neighbours!) Me for not having the energy to get worked up over it despite the fact IT IS a massive PITA or DH for being ridiculously nimbyish?

Neither of you really. But dh is right.. its not really polite and would irk me!

Unfortunately for your DH, however pissed off he might be, your neighbours aren't doing anything wrong, just being inconsiderate. In a perfect world, you'd have a spot free outside your house to come and go as you please, but I'm assuming there's nothing to stop anyone, be it your neighbours or someone else, from parking there when you're not.

The only thing you could do is get together with your neighbours and agree not to use your cars for a while once you've managed to occupy your "own spot" outside your homes. Once you've had your cars there permanently for a few weeks, the neighbours will have found somewhere else to park.

I agree with your DH. 5 cottages, 5 parking spaces. Good manners would be to park a 2nd or 3rd car elsewhere.

I think DH simply has higher levels of morality than me :o

I feel your pain! On my road there is space for three or four cars between the drives on the opposite side of the road. So many of my neighbours park inconsiderately so only two can fit into the huge space.

We also have a blue badge holder who refuses to use their blue badge space, I have no clue why, but the blue badge bay takes up one and a half spaces too and then the car itself takes another space I wonder if it's because of the wheelchair boot access (it has a 3 metres sticker on the back) but where the bay is, if they used it, behind the space is their drive and then somebody elses, so I don't think it is that!

And all of the houses have drives yet only one house actually uses theirs Most houses on my road have three+ cars too, either houses with rooms rented out or houses with two/three generations of adults living in them. Strangely though I've only once had to park on a different road!

This is all social convention. I've lived in places where the kind of behaviour OP described would be absolutely beyond the pale - we're talking "Wicker Man" territory here. But now I'm in London and my patch has everyone parking whenever they can.

Question is whether your DH is the only one annoyed, or whether others are? Eg what's your local social convention, and how far (if at all) the neighbours are out of step with it...?

I used to live in a flat which had a right to park in the next door pub rear car park (not where the customers parked) and had 'my' normal space. But the cottages opposite didn't have any parking except on a busy main road so the man opposite's car regularly used to get bashed up the rear or wing mirrors knocked off by big lorries when parked outside his house. So then he started occasionally parking in MY space and it really used to madden me, I could burst into tears if I turned in and that bloody mini was there. And then they must have gone on holiday and the car sat, taking up a space and a half for weeks. I was coming home one night and had my workplace tea mug in my hand and thumped it at the door in a blind fury about the inconsiderate b?!*%#. And left a wee dent. I did actually feel quite bad about that after .

It's bizarre how parking makes everyone so territorial. I'm never going to take my own driveway for granted in our new house or the ability to park at work. It is truly a blessing and worth thousands in taking less salary to stay in this job rather than get a new one in the city centre.

OP - I'd at least try to highlight how things worked before and try and see if they have a better nature to appeal to. But they may get arsey about it and then it has the danger of being a 'thing'.

Or you could take your temper out with a snow shovel.

It can be a bit "wicker man" here too arkestra! I grew up in London, so the idea of a free for all when it comes to parking is not outside the realms of my imagination. DH grew up in the country and just doesn't get it.

TBF we've not actually met the neighbours yet. I saw them to say hello to in passing the day they moved in, DH has never seen them. I'm wary of raising any issue until we've actually met them in case it does become "a thing", which would be such a shame. In the main we are peaceful, respectful folk, the kind who share a glass of cider on a summers evening and swap homemade jams. All out warfare wasn't really on our agenda :)

I think they can park wherever they want as long as they park considerately. Parking in front of your house is perfectly ok but parking badly so they take up two spaces wouldn't be. Iyswim.

My DS is in a household with three cars, they are small houses with no off road parking. He and his fellow tenants all need their cars for work. It's a sweet idea to suggest he ought to buy a house with parking. I'll suggest it to him

Perhaps your DH could contact the council and ask about a resident parking scheme.

How will a resident parking scheme help when it is residents taking up 3/5 of the spaces?

Personally I think that people should think about how they park and how it affects others. 5 spaces, 5 houses - it would be nice to think that people could be considerate enough to share the limited parking out fairly. Sadly people rarely think of anyone other than themselves.

LOL at the residents parking :o
It's only us plebs who have to park on the road, everyone else has garages (often in the plural!)

And in a tremendous coup, we have all managed to wedge ourselves outside our respective houses, necessitating the removal of the smallest of the three cars. DH is acting like this is some sort of strategic victory- shame he's just driven to work :o

We have new neighbours with two cars and a large van. Funny how the van is never parked outside their own house so they don't have to spend the whole weekend looking at it! We have disabled neighbours so always try to leave space for their daughter to park to collect them. They mentioned this to the van driver and he told them to f off!

I live in a Close with houses on 1 side, we have a turning point half way up instead of a traditional turning point.
Even though every house has a garage and driveway all large enough to use easily we still have 2 house's that refuse to use their garage/driveway and instead use the turnaround point as their own personal NCP carpark.
This means that my disabled daughters school taxi driver and any visitors/couriers etc have nowhere to turn their cars, so they have no option but to reverse all the back down the road which is very awkward and a danger.
All because of inconsiderate people that don't give a dam about anyone else but themselves. Why do they do it???

Blimey, no need for the sarcasm at my suggestion of residents parking. I don't know about other areas but where I live you only get one or two residents parking permit per house, depending on the area. So if it were implemented in your area it might help.

HTH

I don't think either of you is BU, of course you are right, legally and you're probably a happier more relaxed person for taking the view that this isn't something to get worked up about however I can see why this pisses your DH off and I think your neighbours are rather inconsiderate.

Pixieofcatan, if your neighbour isn't using the disabled bay, get in touch with the council and tell them. They will tell her that as it is not being used, they will remove it. I did it when the neighbour opposite started leaving her bay vacant so that if she ever had visitors they could park outside her house! She stopped the day after I got in touch with the council.

That's interesting to know film. I did wonder about whether it could be removed but thought it unfair as they ate entitled to it, but I have never seen their car parked in it! I had assumed it was my old next door neighbours space but I had a discussion with another neighbour about it after he died and he told me it wasn't, he got his badge after the space was made for the other neighbour.