Why do my neighbours insist on sitting in their front garden?

[vnk21]

I am sure this makes me unreasonable but the incessant noise is giving me the rage.

I WFH, in an upstairs room at the front of the house. Today it's about 26 degrees here so I have the windows open. And all I can here is next door.

There's currently an entire family of them outside (mum, dad, and various kids). The parents have garden chairs out in the front garden and the kids are kicking a ball around - all of them are making a load of noise. Plus every time anyone walks past they have to engage them in conversation.

The houses in this street have small front gardens, Theirs is paved, and the size of 1 large car. Their back garden is at least twice the size. Why would you not sit out there?!

I'm not expecting silence, but the incessant shouting/screaming is so bloody irritating - especially when one of them goes indoors and they carry out a yelled conversation from the house to outside! First thing this morning it was lovely, birdsong and (because it is a relatively busy road) cars going past. But their noise is far more irritating than cars going past.

There's no solution other than closing the windows (and sweating in the heat) is there? Or hoping for rain.

I appreciate it's only a week and the schools will be back next week (so at least I should get some quiet 9-3), but I'm concerned they're going to be like this for the whole 6 weeks holiday which will drive me mad!

'know exactly why the poster used those words. Snobbery is celebrated on here. No idea why. I suppose it helps insecure people feel better about themselves. '

Oh unclench fgs. Reverse snobbery is also 'celebrated' on here with people mocking 'posh twats' like Rees Mogg etc daily or those that have a nanny or use private schools.

I don't think it's that odd to sit out the front. I've lived in countries where it is the norm to sit out the front even if you have a garden at the back. The idea is that you interact with people passing by, you talk to your neighbours, people come by with a bottle of wine and sit for a chat and a drink - it's nice.

I thought this as well. I'm in the USA and front porch living is a normal enough thing.
As is playing on street in our area.

@KarensChoppyGob

Please explain?

Dickensian reference. If you're Council you probably don't have the education.

Noise is the only unreasonable bit, especially if late at night. Talk to them about the loud noise.

What are front gardens actually for if you're not allowed to be in them?

why does everything has to be FOR something?
They just look nice and give you some distance from the street, isn't' that enough? A bit of private land at the front makes your life easier, it doesn't mean it was ever designed for people to plonk themselves on it and check whatever the neighbours are doing, or worst being antisocial and ill mannered.

What? You're just supposed to keep it to look at?

Seems bloody ridiculous to me. I'm going to start using mine more.

Well the ones that sit in their front gardens in their dressing gowns or pop to tescos/do the school run in their PJ's

That's not really a "social group" though, is it @JaniieJones? It's individuals who behave in a way that others don't approve of. I don't do any of those things, but I still think sitting in the front garden is fine if that's what a person wants to do (but not disturb others by doing so, same as using the back garden).

Seems bloody ridiculous to me. I'm going to start using mine more.

if you enjoy living in the street, go for it. Bit weird, but if it's that kind of neighbourhood, it's your life.

Now, lesson number two, reading posters’ names...

who can bother with that? People name-change all the time anyway, even in the middle of a thread, so who cares.

@category12 Some ideas to get you started if you don't enjoy the fridge atheistic.

Move to another room. Pick up your three screens, one by one and move them to another room. Problem solved. Stop being such a misery. Some people buy houses with gardens because they want to use the garden. Some people are sociable. Your wants are no more important than theirs.

@fashionablefennel

Now, lesson number two, reading posters’ names...

who can bother with that? People name-change all the time anyway, even in the middle of a thread, so who cares.

Well, if a poster is going to criticise my use of the English language, then when I respond to explain, criticise me again without realising in the same person, they’ll only make themselves appear nincompoopish for failing to notice the same name above the posts.

I’m

That’s annoying.

But it’s the neighbours fault if the OP (or anyone else) is now working from home.

You can at the same time be happy you are saving on commute etc, for example AND require the same of level of quiet than in your office.

I think working from home can be a crap thing. If you have young dc who don’t go to school, NDN who is out in the garden a lot of the time, no space in your house etc...
You can’t blame everyone else for that though. You can blame companies for expecting you to somehow have the space to find a quite environment to work from home.

I just think whether you're in the front garden or the back garden just stfu and stop bellowing. It's perfectly possibly to have friends over without needing to involve the whole street.

@lakesummer

I don't think it's that odd to sit out the front. I've lived in countries where it is the norm to sit out the front even if you have a garden at the back. The idea is that you interact with people passing by, you talk to your neighbours, people come by with a bottle of wine and sit for a chat and a drink - it's nice.

I thought this as well. I'm in the USA and front porch living is a normal enough thing.
As is playing on street in our area.

I do think there's a cultural element - I know my working class IL and parents would be vocally wtf about using front gardens. They have slate stones or nice gravel and brick layered parking. There's not really any children playing out where they are either - there's some where we are.

When I moved to a different part of the country for first job - my family were taken back at how much street eating was frowned upon with very obvious disapproval it was a more well healed area were I think people had more money to eat in restaurants and cafes. There were obvious glares and disapproval when we did it and it was clearly an unwritten rule for the area.

I think that why so many people in UK put low maintenance stuff in front gardens or pave them over it's so often wasted space which I do think is a shame. I also think it also shows the lack of sort of old fashioned community spirit in many areas now.

Because that is what people do in the north!

I'm sorry, I find this an incredibly snobby attitude? Not council but 'like that? Nice.

We have two gardens and enjoy using both. The back has less lawn than the front so the children sometimes play in the front.

I love to see children playing and having fun, maybe they should all be kept hidden away instead where they can be silent and not seen.

[quote FuriousCheekyFucker]@KarensChoppyGob

Please explain?

Dickensian reference. If you're Council you probably don't have the education.[/quote]
Lol. I didn't think It was as basic as an analogy of A Christmas Carol. Mainly because it simply doesn't apply here . In any way.

Now if we were talking Great Expectations (re snobbery) you could have made an attempt at a valid point.

For what it's worth, we are not in social housing and live in a very naice expensive area. Neighbours have commented that's it's lovely to see children outside playing.

Because that is what people do in the north!

I've lived in two different northen cities are no-one did it there.

My IL are in north midlands sometimes descibed as north and no-one does it there either. Bit of midland I've from and another bit I've lived in it wasn't done there.

I'm in wales at minute - it's not done on our estate.

I really don't think it is a north/south thing.

If you have that kind of neighbours who must be in their front garden, it's pretty obvious you are culturally obliged to start revving your car and smoke them out

I am South-East , as working class as you can get, but thankfully my working class neighbours don't let their kids run around feral in the street, and are only seen in their front garden when they do something in it (gardening etc).

Makes life so much nicer for the whole (working class) neighbourhood.
They also keep their bins out of sight, we're that fashionably backward here!

I wonder if the front-garden people are the same ones who were timing their neighbours outing to ensure they respected the (completely invented) 1 hour-a-day outing rule

I think I've been pretty clear as to the reasons why I can't move rooms. It isn't as simple as picking up a laptop and sitting on the sofa with it :)

I not only have to move 3 screens, plus the base unit, there's a desk as well which is too big and heavy for me to move without assistance. There is no room for this set up in the rear facing bedrooms because they are in use as bedrooms. It's similar downstairs, the only way to accommodate a desk is to put it in the middle of the kitchen or lounge, which means neither room could be used for it's intended purpose. And of course, I can't easily switch from room to room, so if at 3pm they decamped to the back garden, I'd have to dismantle everything and set it back up again upstairs.

So windows shut it is, I like the fresh air but needs must and if it gets too warm in here I have a fan to use. I find headphones a bit uncomfortable/ awkward (the big over ear ones always seem heavy and makes my ears hot, and the in ear ones often don't fit properly as I have very small ears but I might persevere and see if I can find some suitable ones).

I use my front garden to park my car on, and as a place to store our 4 wheely bins (thanks Council!). It would never occur to me to sit out in the front garden unless I didn't have a back garden. There's a fair bit of passing traffic and I'd prefer to be away from exhaust fumes.

@rainbowstardrops

I feel your pain. Our neighbour has a child with a high pitched, irritating voice and I'm sure she's unable to actually talk. It's constant screeching and jumping on the trampoline (that they couldn't get closer to my fence if they tried). I love seeing and hearing children play but bloody hell, sometimes it can be really annoying. YANBU

I think you might live next door to my SIL! Her DD has a screech that could shatter glass. It's almost painful if you're within about 15' of her.

Luckily for her neighbours, their house is detached and on a very large plot of land.

I think it's fine to sit there and read, for example, but to be making noise is antisocial.