AIBU?
Aibu!? Neighbour parking issue!
itsalwaysunny · 17/12/2019 21:59
Need abit of insight as I'm stressing out tonight after yet another incident with our neighbours. Have lived here 4 years it's my grandads house so have grown up in it, now I live here with my partner and children, our neighbours have two cars and us one. Their drive is for one but just about fits 2 cars, but only because we purposefully park as close as is physically possible without hitting our house to accommodate them. They asked us to do this on the very day we moved in we agreed and have done so ever since.
Lately though the parking has been a big issue, for example one instance I was getting out of a taxi mid day after work a few weeks ago and it was parked on our driveway to help me unload my shopping, literally for two mins if that, next door neighbours arrive home and immediately get out and tell me to move they need to park. OK that's fine I say even though I'm abit annoyed, taxi moves his car and parks away from our house and then I go over and get my shopping out from the car now parked at the top of the cul de sac.
A few other times my mum has been dropping us off home ( me and kids) and she refuses to wait for us to park and get out instead forces us to go out of our way and let her pass before we park.
Last week when my in laws were dropping my children off in the evening after having them after school they parked directly behind us whilst dropping them at the door, they weren't coming in and had left their car door open so it was obvious they werent stopping, next door neighbour came home and had to wait a minute, because of the way they have been in the past and because we could see her waiting we asked my father in law just to move the car to let her in, he did and when she got out he said to her apologies for blocking you in etc and she just replied telling him there are many other places to park and to not block her in again, he just said OK and got back in the car.
Finally tonight my parents were in a similar situation dropping my children off after having them after school, they parked just behind our car and proceeded to bring the children to us waiting at the door, next door neighbour came out of the house and said to my mum 'wouldn't it be annoying if I had to go somewhere really quickly and I couldn't because you were blocking me in.' She then stood there and watched as my parents dropped the kids off then just went back in when they left?!
Am I being unreasonable to think she's blowing a huge insignificant issue wildly out of proportion?! I would like to add every single week without fail their gardener parks outside our drive blocking us in and we have to tell them to move when we need to go out, it's not a problem we just ask and they move, the same things happen when their parents drop their children off and park across the drive ways blocking us in and we have to wait a few mins to park etc I wouldn't ever dream of being so passive aggressive and being so rude to my neighbours family. It just seems like such a stupid thing to be so obsessed about and I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around them, constantly conscious of parking too close (within our boundary) so it might be too much of a squeeze for them and yet she doesn't care about us, that it might be annoying to wait 2 more extra minutes in your car whilst my children are dropped off but I'm sure there are more important things in the world!? Also when she says there are plenty of other places to park, by that she means at the very top of our road, which, as you can imagine when it's in the evening and cold or raining I would much rather my children be dropped off as close to my house as possible even if it means her waiting for an extra minute, we do that for them and other neighbours and I really don't mind!!
Sorry for the long post I'm just getting worked up and stressed out about this
44PumpLane · 17/12/2019 22:13
First off, YABU to start a parking thread without a diagram!!
It's very difficult from what you've described to picture the situation, but I'm imagining a shared drive between both houses that fits 3 cars across at a squeeze but you own 1.5 car widths and they own 1.5 car widths and your meant to be able to park your car with enough space to swing open your doors?
If what I've described is the set up then to be honest I think you should knock on and tell them you've been accommodating them for 4 years and not only are they ungrateful but also rude and in future you will not allow them to use your bit of drive.
If you can afford if have a metal rail fence put on your side of the boundary--you'll still have more space than you do now.
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