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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

217 replies

crazygoat · 03/10/2016 14:38

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!!!!

OP posts:
ShmooBooMoo · 03/10/2016 17:06

I think it's good manners to park outside your own home and ask your visitors to do so if at all possible. I know what the law says but I can understand people wanting to be able to see their car from their window (eg for security). In the interests of keeping things cordial with your neighbours, I would explain you'll make every effort to park outside your own house unless impossible (which they should appreciate having parked outside yours!) I wouldn't leave your car outside some one else's for 4 days though. It does make for an easier life when neighbours have an understanding. Pick your battles is what I'd say...

MotherofPearl · 03/10/2016 17:10

OP YANBU. Not wanting to be ageist but I assume these must be retired people? Who else has the time to obsess about this kind of thing? I think you should park wherever it's legal and convenient!

Nakatomi · 03/10/2016 17:13

ShmooBooMoo

Why though? If they weren't using their car for four days why should they move it? If there's an agreement that you park outside your own house then that's what it should be, but when someone was parked in front of OP's house, it's at her discretion if she has the time or energy to move her car when that space becomes available.

Nakatomi · 03/10/2016 17:15

MotherofPearl

In my opinion it's usually either retirees or people who think they're someone. E.g. my neighbour who felt paying council tax meant the bin men should collect from his door step, even if it means grazing cars and a lamp post on the way down.

VforVienetta · 03/10/2016 17:18

In our street most of the men seem to care quite deeply about parking outside their own house, and most of the women don't give a shiny shite (me included).

DH is definitely territorial about it, and will move his car back the minute he hears the car in 'his' spot drive off.
It's become a real issue for him, to the point that in the past I've called/texted him to warn him someone's in 'his' spot so I don't have to hear a tirade of guff about it when he gets in from work.

His point is that he wants to be able to check on his car from the house (to be fair there is a lot of damage done to parked cars on our road), and it is a generally unwritten rule that if it's free you should park outside your own home.

When we move his top priority is getting a house with off street parking.... Hmm

Gizlotsmum · 03/10/2016 17:20

Our street is ridiculously territorial and entitled with it. Our opposite neighbours have blocked the road rather than park a bit
further down when we have had visitors ( who had parked first!) this has happened on several occasions... and with other neighbours down the road... I just don't understand why you would block a road ( with elderly residents who may need an ambulance) rather than walk less than 100m

Arfarfanarf · 03/10/2016 17:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CoodleMoodle · 03/10/2016 17:25

My DM's neighbour is obsessed with "his space". If someone is parked slightly in front of his house, he'll park right behind it (close as possible) and go in the house. If the intruding car moves he's out there immediately. We timed it once: six seconds.

More than once he's gone in, the other car has moved, he's moved his, gone back in the house... AND THEN GONE OUT AGAIN TEN MINUTES LATER.

DM watches out of the window, which is just (if not more) sad, really. She says it just winds her up so much! It's bizarre.

VforVienetta · 03/10/2016 17:29

Cars being left in the 'wrong' spaces for days on end drives everyone nuts here too, and TBH I do get it - it's a finely tuned system and it means we have to park in someone else's 'spot' and so on til the domino effect means it's parking chaos.

If you know they're anal about spaces just move yours to your space next time yours is free. It's easier than becoming persona non grata over flipping parking.

SapphireStrange · 03/10/2016 17:29

They've got nothing better to worry about, which is quite enviable, in a way.

Lweji · 03/10/2016 17:29

CoodleMoodle

Your DM could set up a Webcam and livestream it. People could take bets on how fast the neighbour would be.

MycatsaPirate · 03/10/2016 17:31

Your neighbours would have a coronary living in our street.

There are a few spaces at the top of the cul de sace outside the garages but most people park their second or third vehicles there. Then you can park on one side of the street only and two houses have off road parking with dropped kerbs.

One couple up the street have four vehicles, over the road have five or six plus a boat on a trailer, next door have two, we have two cars and a campervan. Consequently we are often forced to park round the corner outside someone else's house because there are no spaces.

No one cares. We just park where we can. Priority is given over to the elderly in the street, it's a given that no-one parks outside the lady at the top's house who is bed bound because she could need an ambulance.

I'm disabled and have often had to trail back and forth with one bag of shopping at a time as I can't carry any more than that. I still wouldn't moan about it.

jodiecw · 03/10/2016 17:39

Our neighbour has screaming fits at people who park in front of his house. Even though he has a drive with space for 2 cars.
One night my hubby came home and saw him putting something on the verge outside his house (people usually park slightly on the grass verge) turns out he'd put broken glass down and kind of hidden it with soil, yes actual glass (on the grass verge near a primary school) a quick call to 101 and a threat of an asbo and strangely he cleared it all up!

VforVienetta · 03/10/2016 17:43

Sapphire not sure about that - IME its more likely their misdirecting all their stress/rage/worry into parking wars as their unable to fix their deeper more important issues!

Just because people behave daftly over something trivial doesn't mean their life is all roses.

VforVienetta · 03/10/2016 17:44

*they're Blush

ivykaty44 · 03/10/2016 17:45

If you want use the space furthest away from your house

TroysMammy · 03/10/2016 18:06

Crikey. There is an unwritten rule on my street that everyone parks on the right hand side as the street is too narrow, so the people on the left can't park directly outside their houses. They have to walk approx 5 steps further, imagine that?

I could be really precious about people parking outside my house as I'm on the end of the terrace, near the road with a corner plot and our houses face each other on a pathway. I would be preventing 3 cars parking there if I was a member of the parking police.

However behind each terrace is also an off road car park for residents which in the event of a fire will allow fire engines to get to the back of the houses as they can't park in front of them. Now this is what really pisses me off, the twats (visitors) who think it's acceptable to park along the dropped curb to the car park which prevents people, including myself, accessing the car park and exiting to join the road.

BoneyBackJefferson · 03/10/2016 18:07

The only time it has ever pissed me off was when the neighbour parked their dinky little car outside their house and their bloody great works van outside of mine.

When asked why they said that they didn't want to look at the works van.

Fucking wankers.

MissPattie · 03/10/2016 18:10

The only thing that really pisses me me off is when what is now known as "th annoying car" gets parked outside our house.

Our street has very limited parking, you rarely get to park outside your house, but everyone takes it on the chin, is considerate, and just gets on with it. Apart from the people with some souped up saloon that they leave parked outside your house for about 4 weeks at a time.

They seem nice people, so Inpresume that they just have not realised that it's a bit annoying knowing that you can never park outside your own front door.

flupcake · 03/10/2016 18:18

Q7 is shade over 5 metres (about 16 and half feet in old money) - long for a car, granted, but that's a narrow house.
Not that narrow. My terraced house is about 5 metres wide, and there are lots of houses in this area narrower than mine. So perfectly possible for the car to be wider than the house.
Goes off to dream of a 7 metre wide house and a driveway for 4 cars...

Laineymc7 · 03/10/2016 18:22

My road is permit holders only and no allocated bays. We park where we get a space. If we get our outside our house then great if not I park in the closest one. Your neighbours are being silly.

flupcake · 03/10/2016 18:33

Our street is very busy and I can rarely park outside my house. Flats (so two cars per house), nearby doctors surgery and shops, etc. It used to bug me when the children were babies as it made it difficult to unload the car, but now they are older it really doesn't bother me. So what if I have to walk a minute or two down the road? It's good exercise! As for 'keeping an eye on the car' - for what purpose? On the occasion when I do park outside the house I'm certainly not watching the car anyway!
However one of my neighbours certainly doesn't think like this - even though he has a driveway he always parks outside his house, and when not there leaves his wheelie bins in the road! Every bloody day! Honestly. So not only is he taking up a space in the street, but it means no-one can park in front of his dropped kerb either.
Once I moved his bins out of the way to park there and he left a note asking me to put the bins back in the road after. Like hell! Me and the DCs now delight in calling him Mr Bins.

Collaborate · 03/10/2016 18:44

I love winding up people like this. It's just so easy. Haven't they got anything better to do with their lives than tell their neighbours where they can and cannot park on a public road?

Mumzypopz · 03/10/2016 18:57

Tonight I have parked outside my house, instead of on the drive, firstly for the sheer fun of it and secondly to stop my neighbours friends parking there all hours which then leaves no space for my husband's car when he gets in from work. I know it's a bit sad and we don't own the space outside our house, but it's easier for us if we have both cars nearby rather than 100 yards up the road, what with kids, school runs, shopping etc...Started doing silly things like this when another neighbour parked his van outside our house for six weeks, knowing he was having a knee op and be unable to move it for this period if time...

BuffaloCustardbath · 03/10/2016 18:59

My mother gets a bee right in her bonnet about the neighbours parking in front of her house - she lives alone so feels entitled to have the spot outside of her house all of the time as she only has one car when most other houses in the street have multiple.... despite the fact that before her and dad were divorced and myself and siblings lived at home we had FOUR cars on the street and none of the neighbours batted an eyelid (or at least never made a fuss about it). She has a short memory, and it irritates her immensely that I don't agree with her.