Parking in front of your own house..... What's the deal with this????

[crazygoat]

Hello! We have just moved into a new house and there is no allocated parking. On our first day a neighbour popped into say hello an mentioned that each house likes to park in front of their own house, then quickly apologised for parking in front of ours! I did ask if it was allocated and she said no but it's what we like.

Fast forward a few days and we had got back from doing the weekly shop and the only place to park was in front of a neighbours house, seeing as we had to unload the car with shopping, toddler, buggy and everything else that a small human needs we parked in that space as it was free. We then didn't use the car for about 4 days but didn't think there would be a problem leaving it there as there were always other spaces free within about 15 steps of everyone's front door, anyway my partner has to use the car and in less than a minute after he has gone both my neighbours move their cars, one from in front of my house to in front of his and the other out if the space in front of the other neighbours house to in front of his. So all in all both cars have been moved about 5 meters!! I then heard then say to each other 'so glad we have got our spots back, think we should get some cones'

Why do people do this?? Me and my partner will park in the closest spot to our front door, whether that be in front of it or 30 meters down the road. we really don't care!!!! If there is a spot opposite my neighbours house I'm not going to park in another spot just to keep if free for them!!

AIBU??? If you are one of these people that likes to always park in front of your house can you please let me know why?? I can understand if you have a disability, you are entitled to have a space close to your house, I can even see that it would be nice if you have a car full of kids you want to keep safe but that doesn't entitle you to the space.

I wish my life was so simple that I could spend my days looking out my window to see if my parking space is free!!!!

[Laiste]

Yes. Of course i do. I sit looking at it all day.

FFS

[RaspberryOverloadTheFirst]

I guess the OP didn't park outside her house because the space was taken. And starting up a car just to move it a tiny fraction is something I was told isn't good for the engine, plus is not environmentally friendly. I certainly wouldn't have bothered moving my car, and equally would not be bothered about someone parking ourside my own house.

I used to live for nearly 20 years on a terraced road where all parking is down one side of the street to allow the busses through. You took any free space, and people still do that, the times I've walked down there.

[Cheby]

YANBU OP. People who get territorial about the space outside their house are bonkers. If they put cones out, I would calmly get out of my car, move the cones, and park there anyway.

[Laiste]

I'd still love to hear from someone that does care though......

.... so that you can post sarcy comments.

[MrsGuyOfGisbo]

Utterly bonkers - amazing they have nothing else to worry about - are they all retired?
When I visit my parents they seem to have this set-up and always look anxiously to see where I've parked my car ( for all of max 3 hours) in case I have parked in front of another neighbour's house
I don't see why you should have moved your car from where it was when a space became free outside yours - utter waste of time.
(and in any case which neighbour's nefarious visitor was parking in front of yours that day? )

[ThoraGruntwhistle]

I think the OP meant that your car could still be damaged even whilst parked outside your house, unless you can watch it at all times.

[80sWaistcoat]

I find this kind of territorial parking absolutely bizarre.

As far as I'm aware our road is a free for all - it's nice if you get parked close to your house - but you can end up down the bottom of the road or round the corner.

I say as far as I'm aware as threads like this really make me wonder. Friend lives on a road where they are all incredibly territorial about parking spots outside houses, especially as one side of the street has drives and the other doesn't.

I always used to worry when I parked up overnight there and got a taxi home. Then I met her neighbours who were joyless gits and obsessed with parking and then I took delight in parking in front of their house and leaving it overnight.

[crazygoat]

AndNowItsSeven, because there was a car parked there, who's I don't know and I don't care!! We left it for 4 days as we didn't need to use it and I honestly can't tell you if that space became free at any point as I have a full time job and toddler to look after!

[sarahnova69]

Bloody hell. People really care about this?

Our last place was on a street with ample parking, probably as many people did have driveways or lived in closes with parking, but even so none of our neighbours ever got mardy when I needed to park in front of theirs because directly in front of mine was taken, nor would I. My new place is on a one-way street close to the "town centre" area of our part of London and is a complete free for all. I count myself lucky to wedge myself into a space at all! I certainly wouldn't be going out and moving my car all the time. Neighbours can cope with walking a couple of metres. And cars don't really get up to much and can usually cope with not being watched all day.

[Bestthingever]

My neighbours are like this about the parking discs in front of our house! Once my car was parked in front of my house for several days. I went out to the shop and my dd saw the man get into his car and move his car off his driveway, park it in front of my house and go back inside!! What an empty life he must lead.

[NoFucksImAQueen]

I get upset when someone parks in "my" bay (it's not allocated) but I know it's irrational

Honestly they are a bit bonkers but they aren't being mean about it or having a go at you so I wouldn't give it a second thought.

[VioletRoar]

My sister is under strict instruction to shoot me the second I start giving a fuck about parking specifically on a piece on land outside my house that I in no way own.

[SurlyValentine]

I hear you OP. We live in a large-ish terrace, with no off-road parking. The first time I met my neighbours, they told me that the lamp-post between our houses was the "boundary" and asked that we didn't park our car beyond it. I did my best tinkly little laugh, shrugged my shoulders and said ok.

Since then, we have got new neighbours on our other side who own a chuffing enormous Audi Q7, which is actually longer than the width of their house, and they have no qualms about parking so the nose of their car is well into what would be my spot. I have had no choice other than to park beyond the lamp-post "boundary". The original neighbours have complained to me, but I've told them to take it up with my neighbours on the other side, because if there's a space outside any house on this row that my car (smallish hatchback) will fit in, I'm going to park in it. Them all having massive 4x4s or people carriers that they can't park isn't my problem.

[JosephineMaynard]

It does irritate me when my next door neighbours park outside my house, but this is mostly because they have a drive long enough for 3 cars, and they almost always have room on their drive for the car they've parked outside my house. So they don't need to park outside my house to be as close as possible to their house IYSWIM.

Makes things awkward if we have visitors, as our drive can't take as many cars as theirs.

[CrazyNameCrazyGuy]

We have this on the school run. Some of the residents come out and park there cars off of their drive and put it out on the road in front of their houses. This is to stop the school run parents parking outside their house.

If my experience of living near a school is anything to go by then I'm not surprised people do this. Lots of entitled twats parking across driveways blocking people in and if you say anything to them they get arsey "it was only for 5 minutes while I took my little darling into the playground" Yeah right, plus the 10 minutes you stood around chatting to other parents so now I'm going to be late to work.

I've even come home early to find parents parked IN my drive while they pick their children up ffs. When I challenged one parent she said in a sniffy voice "well you're not usually here at this time of day" like that was a good excuse!

I started parking outside, across my driveway in the end. I'm sure there were lots of snotty comments from the drop-off parents about how rude/territorial I was being but at least I was able to get into work on time.

[jackjackattack]

It's like that on our street and whilst I don't mind occasionally coming home to find someone parked outside my house, I do like to park in the same spot outside my own house. we all have our own unofficial spot and respect each other's spaces. If I have a guest staying for a while I'll ask them to park where I know none of our neighbours like to park. I think it's just easy to get home and always park in a place where you can see your car from your home and you're not having to look around for a space. I don't see why that's so strange...

[Badbadbunny]

Some people are sad gits. Our town's football club is near a huge bungalow estate with nice wide roads and lots of driveways. Inevitably lots of supporters park in the residential streets because there aren't any public car parks.

We go to every match and I always park properly, i.e. not blocking anyone's drive, not opposite any drive nor opposite any wide vehicle. Most others do the same - the estate is huge so everyone can park legally and there's no need to park on corners or block anyone. I always thought it was strange that very few of the houses parked their cars in their drives - just thought that with it being bungalows maybe a lot of people were elderly without cars. One day, I had reason to go to see one of the residents in the estate and was astonished to see the road completely empty and cars parked in all the drives. I mentioned it to the guy I was there to see and he told me it was usual for them all to move their cars from their drives to the road outside their houses on match days so the supporters wouldn't park there! I couldn't believe it!!! That they could be so bothered to move their cars for just a couple of hours every couple of weeks! Bonkers!

[hellsbellsmelons]

I lived in my house in West London for 8 years and I reckon I parked outside my own house about 10 times maximum.
It was just never free so you park in the next nearest one.
Your neighbours are batshit!

[limitedperiodonly]

It's surburban living and I'm not sneering - I wanted to park my car outside my house when I first moved here because it was what I was used to. I learned that I was lucky to be able park in the same street, let alone outside my house. Despite my residual twitchiness, I learned that my car was no more likely to get damaged outside someone else's house than my own. The only annoying thing was remembering where I'd parked it because living here, I rarely used my car. I might leave it for four weeks, not four days, and learned to write down where I'd left it.

The council cracked down on the abuse of permits and it became much easier to find a space in your own street, which was fair.

I don't have a car now - I don't need one - so I don't have a dog in the race any more.

[MrsEricBana]

We have this. Yes I'd prefer to park as near as possible to my house in case of loading/rain/keeping an eye on it BUT what you describe is madness. I would try and leave my own car outside my own house if I was going on holiday so others weren't inconvenienced unnecessarily.

[Cherryskypie]

I have no idea why they care but as they do it's easier to go with the flow.

[HemanOrSheRa]

I agree with Josephine. Our neighbours have a large off street parking area with dropped kerb but still park wherever they like outside of other people's houses. And in the last couple of weeks have taken to PUTTING OUT CONES to reserve the space outside of their house next to the dropped kerb too! They have 2 cars.

[Fallstar]

Nobody expects to be able to park outside their house in our street and one person who started the traffic-cones-to-mark-their-space malarkey was given very short shrift and the cones moved.

Lots of people come and go here and it would be daft and impractical to start shuffling cars around as spaces become available. What about visitors who don't know the 'system'?

OP, I'm with you. I've never come across this kind of set-up but in the interests of neighbourly relations it might be worth moving your car if it's going to be outside your neighbours' houses for days on end.

[ItsJustNotRight]

The maddest neighbour I ever had re parking? There were general parking bays for the houses without drives but some houses had drives. One day when I was in the general space and about to go out, she came over and started mouthing off at me for being a bad neighbour, being totally selfish etc. She then stood in front of my car so I couldn't move it. The problem? The general bay was opposite her house and her husband liked to reverse their car off their drive into the parking space opposite it. Ffs, they had a mini. So according to her I should leave the space empty and park in another general bay round the corner. She was barking mad.

[Pandsbear]

Ha ha we have one neighbour who very much likes his car parked outside his house. We live in a city centre terraced street.

Both sides full of houses. No drives at all. Many house have more than one car... the logistics are simply not possible to allow everyone to park outside their house all the time, I am grateful if I find somewhere on the street! We also get people parking and walking to the city centre during the day and at weekends (if they can). Neighbour does move his car the moment the space outside his house is free, including only rolling his car back a couple of metres. But we are kind and don't park outside his house if there are other spaces further up the road. (He knows he is slightly fixated on this but they have lived here forever and they are good neighbours).