Sitting in front gardens??

[curiousgeorgie247]

We bought an ex council house a few years ago. Lovely estate, lovely big houses with large gardens, lovely neighbours.
Most are now owner occupied but there are still a few that are council.
Was having a drink in the sun with neighbours last night in the back garden. It came up about most of the people across the road sit out in the front gardens and we were discussing why anyone would want to when we all have big back gardens. It isn't to do with the sun as they sit out there when it isn't sunny.
We have a driveway now but when it was a garden I would never have chosen to sit in the front garden as opposed to the back.
None of us have ever seen it anywhere other than on council estates. It seems to be a thing.
I'm not criticizing. It doesn't bother me. Each to their own. It just came up last night and thought I'd ask opinions.

You're going to give yourself a hernia from the strain of trying to seem non-judgmental, OP. Let it aaaall out

I grew up on a tiny estate where everyone did this. All the mums were my aunty, all their kids were my best friends. We walked in and out of eachothers' houses and raided our cupboards for biscuits.

We didn't shout at police cars, but we did make amazing dens out of old sofa frames.

Its a class thing.

It's something working class people enjoy, let them have their fun

I grew up on a council estate - very common to see deck chairs the front gardens and even people just standing at the front gate chatting to people who passed by. Everyone knew everyone (and their business ) and it was lovely.

Let them have their fun?

My very middle-class MIL sits out the front in the sun. Usually with a glass of wine and a book.

Do you think she might be working class on the inside?

They do it on our mixed street - very intimidating for people walking past being stared at. Street isn't particularly friendly at the best of times. Someone was having a BBQ in the front garden the other day. Why?

I live in vair naice area and my husband is currently sat on the wall out the front drinking a beer and chatting to our neighbour.

Ops working class and it doesn't appear she enjoys it Babs?

Oh. I've never seen anyone bbq'ing out on the front. That would seem very strange.
I can see how it some people would be intimidated by it. I have seen people cross over to my side when the guy at the house I mentioned in my pp had all his mates round. I probably wouldn't want to walk past that either.

Quite the opposite woman I like where I live. Much better than the main road I used to live on where the kids couldn't play out.
It's a great little community. We all know eachother and all the kids play together. It's lovely.

Where did you get that I was unhappy from any of my posts?

I don't have a front garden so have no choice but to sit out the back. My friends and in laws in Liverpool all sit out the front to watch the kids and chat and share tea/booze/biscuits. I like it. it's friendly.I remember my SIL finally sending all the kids back home and one wee one lingered looking lost. SIL didn't recognise her, thought she must have wandered in from another street so was trying to find out who the child was. she asked her her name - no response. Asked again - child looked puzzled.
finally SIL said, "Well, when your mum shouts you in at night, what does she shout?" (Bloody good question, i thought)
small child's face cleared as she smiled and bellowed "DINNER!"

Anyone remember that’s big barbecue where they meet the in laws for the first time in My Big Fat Greek Wedding? They were roasting an entire lamb... all in their front garden.

Read Balsamics post op, I was replying to their generalisation

It does sound lovely, I live in a identical area. I've never wondered why people sit in their front garden though, or watched someone through my window long enough, on more than one occasion, to notice them crossing a road to get away from people in a garden.

I wasn't trying to make a distinction between the owners and renters

OK.

But it is the council tenants who sit out the front whereas everyone else uses the back

How is that not making a distinction between council and mortgagees?

How do you know that all the front sitters are HA? Do they have a special mark or something? Or mooning garden gnomes?

Maybe they are just neighbourly and sociable and feel they have no need to hide away in the back for fear of being spoken to by another human being without a formal introduction.

I live in owner occupied terraced housing with no front gardens and when my kids were little we all used to take out chairs and sit on the pavement sharing drinks and organising massive games of British bulldog for the kids.

Now the street is lined with cars and everyone sits on their own in the back garden and kids don't even know each other.

It's a sad sad loss.

You are criticising so stop acting like a snidey fucker and have the balls to own a shitty opinion.

My neighbour used the word chavvy last night. And I suppose I have to agree.

Ahhh there it is

I'm going to sit out front soon as my garden being sorted now. The main reason for me is it's really peaceful out front as back has kids shouting and music playing a lot. You can't hear it out front and it's pretty private in my street

19.09- “it came up in conversation yesterday but none of us were judging”

Little later in the thread “my neighbor used the word Chavvy and I suppose I have to agree”

Have the balls to own your snobbery, sweetheart and don’t dance around the issue. You’ll honestly come off as terrible both ways... so you way as well be open

This used to happen where I grew up (middle of town, large colonial buildings with huge and very private front gardens. You also do it quite often in the country where once again you have large and rather private front gardens. But I have never seen this done in a regular patch of grass type front 'garden'. I think it very odd. And I really don't see how it is sociable-surely it is a bit rude, if you want to socialise the done thing is to invite someone into your house and offer them tea/food instead of expecting them to talk to you over your fence.

I grew up on a council estate and we never sat in the front garden - in fact my mam didn't let us in ours 'cos it was the 'nice' garden (until they shoved a big van in there for months on end ). We did used to play out on the estate though and other, older neighbours would keep an eye out for us - but only so they could yell at us to "get round your own end!!"

I live in another council estate now and still no-one uses their front gardens. In fact, many households have converted their front gardens to a drive because the road is so narrow and, being 60 odd years old, the houses weren't built with a drive or garage attached.

Ok so maybe one comment was slightly judgy. But we really were just wondering why.

Just because my view is different from yours doesn't make me a snob or a terrible person. Wtf!? 🤣

Not sure why on every post I see nowadays. Posters always seem to be attacking eachother. I posted a light hearted question.

I posted a light hearted question.

AIBU to judge council estate people for using their front garden?

Yeah, totally lighthearted. No goadyness on this thread in the slightest.

For some it's actually way more sociable to be able to pop in and out of your own home, leave the door open, see to the kids, put a bit of washing on, pop into each others houses, potter about and do the come/go chat thing on/off throughout the day rather than an organised possibly costly (to the host) scheduled socialising lasting approximately 2 hours. While one neighbour has popped inside the other one on the other side has come out etc. To the people who do it, I used to be one, it's extremely sociable. We used to remove our fence panels to make it essier. [grinn]