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.

We sit in our front garden, as do most of our neighbors - we're in Germany. Most of the houses in our village are privately owned detached and worth a minimum of half a million €, far more in many cases although we rent ours and it's one of a handful of semis Still a sense of community here though.

Our neighbour over the road sits out the front on a kitchen chair, then she's joined by another neighbour and they watch their kids have water gun fights. I'm not bothered by it at all but dh saw them and said it was like living in the ghetto

I pointed out to him that it was no different to us standing rather than sitting and chatting for ages to our ndn's out the front. Or him doing the man talk thing with the neighbours discussing their car polishing/washing etc techniques for an hour out the front.

I agree it is common. And if there is any furniture there, you mention a fridge, it is dam near flytipping.
For the record I live on an estate that is about 50/50 in terms of HA to private ownership. No adult here sits out front but the children do play out front which is ok

Buster how can having furniture in your own front garden be fly tipping? That doesn't make any sense!

We do it here on a very ‘naice’ estate. Even get the paddling pools out and all the kids run around having water fights. It’s a close community on our estate.

www.idealhome.co.uk/garden/garden-ideas/front-garden-ideas-39239 lots of benches and other seating ideas for front gardens on the Ideal Home website...

"Damn near" not actually but near enough...I suppose it also depends upon the original purpose of the item. Sofas and fridges are designed for indoor use. If placed outdoors it will be because they have reached the end of their useful life and the owner is too lazy or feckless to dispose of it properly.
A nice bench in a front garden is o.k.

But it is the council tenants who sit out the front whereas everyone else uses the back. It was mearly an observation.
We just wondered why?

Oh it’s in the Council Tenant Rental Agreement , it came int force in 1996, something to do with local councils and tax. only applies in England though.