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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

People parking outside our house

221 replies

ReeRi · 28/12/2019 12:07

I find that people always tend to park outside our house when visiting the neighbours. I’m not sure why at all. This is quite a wide road. There is lots of parking as the houses are decent sized semis and detached with big gardens and most have two parking spaces or more. There are not many cars on the road at all so it is not a case of parking wherever you have space. There is nothing outside the neighbours’ houses and yet, when people visit, they park outside our house.

It is particularly annoying because we only recently moved and are decorating so don’t have curtains or blinds downstairs. There is a massive car parked in front of my living room.

I know I don’t own the road and people can park wherever they like but I’m just wondering why the neighbours’ friends and relatives park outside our house and leave the front or their houses clear?!

OP posts:
NearlyOutedMyself · 28/12/2019 13:05

There was a strange car parked outside my house over Christmas. I expect they were visiting someone. It was mildly irritating as I do see it as 'my' space Grin but at least they didn't park in the middle of the two houses. That's even more annoying.

Piggywaspushed · 28/12/2019 13:05

I do feel your pain OP. Some people have just moved into ex showhomes round the corner and have a gazillion cars. They probably should have thought about this when buying their house with parking for two cars (plus a garage they presumably don't use...)

So they drive round the corner and park in the bay outside my house. There's no law that says they can't but it grates.

It means no delivery drivers or visitors can ever park outside my house . I would say in my case, thought, this is literally right outside my window and has also caused annoying door slamming and car shuggling at fairly anti social times. And there are at least six places 10 yards further on and much further from people's windows!

So, whilst I can see it annoys you... it could definitely count as a non problem. and it's miles from your window

FizzyIce · 28/12/2019 13:06

I wouldn’t say that’s “right outside” your window.
It’s probably the biggest stretch of pavement that doesn’t have dropped curbs or something

stellas5 · 28/12/2019 13:08

I think your looking at them more than they are looking at you ? Don't you have anything better to do it's a road people can park where they want😂

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 28/12/2019 13:10

Just because someone can legally park somewhere doesn't mean it isn't annoying.

A whinge about it on MN is completely acceptable where complaining to the driver wouldn't be.

Piggywaspushed · 28/12/2019 13:10

Could you park your own cars there for a while to move them on a bit?

I reckon the are 'considerately' not parking right outside the house of the people they are visiting!

GnomeDePlume · 28/12/2019 13:11

I know when we visit family we will often park a little bit away to allow the family with less mobility to park closer IYSWIM. Hadnt thought it would annoy people if not obscuring drives etc.

This time of year lots of people are visiting others so you will be seeing a lot of unusual parking. Extra visitors, a lot more toing and froing.

As you have just moved in you probably wont have yet seen much of the 'normal' parking arrangements.

Mind, could be worse. A friend lives nearish to a primary school. School drop off and pick up times are murder.

Insideimsprinting · 28/12/2019 13:11

I have always lived in sreets with no drives and tight parking. My biggest annoyance was the small few who get precious about parking. Most manage and adapt well but a few would make a big issue of it which considering how many it wasn't an issue for made it an even bigger annoyance.
If you can get parked on your drive or very close to your house stop whinging and find a problem actually worth worrying about other than an ugly looking van.

RetreatingWeasels · 28/12/2019 13:12

If your house has been empty for a while they have probably got into the habit of parking there. If you park there yourself for a while he will probably find a different favourite spot. We had the same when we first moved here. (no drive for us tho)

imperialqueen · 28/12/2019 13:14

I think it could be because they think your house is empty, they have got the house numbers mixed up or they are trying to avoid parking directly in front of someone's drive.

When following a Sat nav I never seem to park outside the house I am going into.

GOODCAT · 28/12/2019 13:19

I can see why you are irritated. I have a similar issue although my front garden is tiny so the cars are much closer. The road is really narrow so they also park on the pavement. It is also on a T junction so closes up the road, sadly it is one of those things I have to put up with.

It doesn't stop me from being annoyed when neighbours from several doors down use it to park all the time.

There is zero I can do though. Eventually the house opposite is going to be knocked down and new houses built so a load more people without enough parking will also be parking there. At least they will annoy everyone else. I am already irritated so it makes no difference to me.

MaButterface · 28/12/2019 13:22

Sounds like maybe your neighbour have told them to park there rather than in front of their house.

VivaLeBeaver · 28/12/2019 13:24

I have cars parked outside my house all the time and they’re a lot closer than that, less than 10ft away. As long as they don’t sit there with the engine running I don’t care.

Actionhasmagic · 28/12/2019 13:24

It looks nice and parkable. I would totally park there

TSSDNCOP · 28/12/2019 13:28

Are you near a station or golf club? Somewhere someone might be going for a drink but not want to leave the car on the car park.

Rosebel · 28/12/2019 13:31

We have this all the time and it does my head in. I know why in our case. It's because we are one of the few houses without a drive. Next door have a drive but still park outside our house. Garage opposite parks cars outside and leaves them there for weeks. It's so annoying when you come home with shopping or disabled family members and can't even park on the road where I live.

PatsyJStone · 28/12/2019 13:38

Yep, go and ask them, because they can answer this question better than anyone on mumsnet can.
To be honest I’ve seen lots worse situations with terrace houses and no front gardens so this seems quite minor in comparison. If you don’t like it you need to move where there are no neighbours. Otherwise you’ve got to accept it or you will just wind yourself up on a daily basis when someone parks in front of your house.

BrendasUmbrella · 28/12/2019 13:39

People are habit formers. They probably parked there once because it was convenient at the time, and then it just automatically became the spot they park in. If they visit at regular times, maybe park one of your cars out there so it breaks the habit?

BlouseAndSkirt · 28/12/2019 13:40

This is the kind of batshittery that reminds me why I don't want to remove myself to suburbia for retirement.

80skid · 28/12/2019 13:45

Is there a junction just out of shot that they're parking away from, or an obstruction on the other side of the toad or driveway they're not parking opposite?

TigerOnATrain · 28/12/2019 13:47

@80skid

The side of the toad.

Grin
JinglingHellsBells · 28/12/2019 13:48

I totally get your annoyance OP.

This has happened to my mum.

New neighbours who have two cars but only 1 fits in their drive. They park their other one outside their own house (sometimes) so when they have visitors, they park right outside my Mum's wall/ lounge window even if the space beside the adjoining house is 'free'.

This means that if my mum has more than two visitors coming to see her, only one can park in her drive and the other has to find somewhere away from her house.

There is nothing anyone can do but it's annoying looking out of your window looking at a 4 x 4 parked there.

Hello1290 · 28/12/2019 13:49

Further along looks a bit close to a bend in the road so would possibly be a hazard for other vehicles if a car was parked there.

Pipstelle · 28/12/2019 13:50

This can't be real.

TigerOnATrain · 28/12/2019 13:53

@ReeRi

Yes exactly but I said to start with I know they can park where they like just not sure why here!

As I say, YANBU. Smile

Every car in our cul-de-sac (of 26 houses,) has a 2, 3 or 4 car drive. Yet almost every day, visitors park on the road. The woman who lives opposite us has a 4 car drive, and she often has 2 or 3 cars visiting her (at the same time,) and they NEVER park on her drive; always opposite ours, making it hard for us to get out (or IN, if we have been out.)

Sometimes we just think 'if you can't beat 'em join 'em' and park on the road ourselves, at the foot of our drive, for 4 or 5 days in a row.

Cue a load of tuts and huffing, and staring at our car, and comments like 'why is their Astra parked on the road?' Hmm as they have to park 60 or 70 feet further away, because they can't park on the road, (next to her drive,) because they'd be blocking the road.

They also find it hard to get on the drive with us parked at the foot of ours. Doesn't matter though, because if we WEREN'T there, they STILL wouldn't park on the drive anyway.

So basically, they park on the road, often opposite our driveway, making it very hard (sometimes impossible) for us to get out - or in, but when WE do the same, they stand there bitching.

I think the people on here who think parking on the road, opposite peoples drives is OK because it's a public road are the ones who do it themselves. But you can bet they'd kick off if someone kept doing it to them. Hmm

Luckily, our house is elevated, and around 7 feet higher than the road, and our front garden is 40 foot long, so we don't have people gawping in the window, but it's still annoying.