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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Parking one! Pic included. Am I being petty?

262 replies

Larafromthe80s · 22/02/2022 17:09

We have a drive which can fit 2 cars 1 infront of the other and a space on the road outside our house.
Next door have the exact same.
Both houses have 2 cars and neither of us double park on the drive unless someone random has used our road spot. We never take each others road spot out of courtesy.

Anyway a few weeks ago a family moved in on the street next to us, they have 3 cars. They also have 2 spaces on their drive but only use 1, then their other cars keep parking outside ours and our neighbours houses.
It wouldnt be such an issue but my husband's job means he's often called out to work throughout the night so we dont like playing car jenga, hence the fact for 7 years hes always parked on the street outside our house.
Anyway today the son's been parked there, hes gone out tonight so I've moved my car into the spot so my husband can have our drive when home.
However the family have just literally came and stood outside my house smirking and shaking their heads and now I'm really worried I've started a war but also conscious that I may have been really petty!
AIBU to be getting annoyed by this?

Parking one! Pic included. Am I being petty?

OP posts:

Againstmachine · 23/02/2022 09:51

Shame you can't make the space between into a second drive and apply for a longer dropped kerb, then nobody can park in front 😅

Working from the ops posts there drive actually only has one space.

They have said there is a public footpath that splits them, I suspect the bit after the split is the drive entrance (I have seen it before on very wide paths with grass on) and not a drive.

traintraveller · 23/02/2022 10:29

Yes you're petty, your neighbours have seen your pettiness and are laughing at you.

LindaEllen · 23/02/2022 10:42

The spot outside your house does not belong to you. End of.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 23/02/2022 10:45

You all sound a bit petty and ridiculous tbh.

2022newyearnewname · 23/02/2022 11:18

@Againstmachine

Shame you can't make the space between into a second drive and apply for a longer dropped kerb, then nobody can park in front 😅

Working from the ops posts there drive actually only has one space.

They have said there is a public footpath that splits them, I suspect the bit after the split is the drive entrance (I have seen it before on very wide paths with grass on) and not a drive.

Yes, I was meaning the bit next to their drive so they have a full, two car drive in front of their house, side by side. But for some reason, it seems the bit between the two drives (theirs and NDNs) is council owned and not a front lawn which can be converted.

AllOfUsAreDead · 23/02/2022 11:27

Logistically I understand why you've done that, but they will just think you're mad now. Although they don't look sane either getting upset over a car being parked on a road in a specific spot.

Both look bonkers to me sorry. If I was one of your other neighbours that is.

pradavilla · 23/02/2022 11:33

No one owns the spaces outside your house or the neighbours so anyone can park there. Including you and if u want to leave ur driveway empty so ur dh can use that then do so.

I once had a neighbour with a driveway in our tiny tight little street who wouldn't use it! They had 2 cars and parked both on the street. Taking spaces that other people needed. Eventually they had to start using it due to the angles of other peoples drives and folk (not my family) parking close to their driveway when they weren't in 😂

Whammyyammy · 23/02/2022 11:41

You don't have a road spot.
Your ndn doesn't have a road spot.
There is a road outside your house, which anyone can legally park on. You sound very entitled

milkyaqua · 23/02/2022 11:43

They are fuckwits. They feel entitled to the space out front of your house, and yet all the mad posters on this thread are busy defending them and saying you have no right to feel entitled to the space in front of your house.

NorthSouthcatlady · 23/02/2022 11:44

YABU as you don’t own the space outside your house. My mum is like this and it’s quite cringey. Their response is an over reaction and hypocritical under the circumstances

Whammyyammy · 23/02/2022 11:44

@milkyaqua

Because they ARE NOT entitled to sole use of a public space because its outside there house?

Whammyyammy · 23/02/2022 11:46

If you make a big thing of making out this public road is yours to these neighbours, who obviously know its free for anyone today use, you may rile them up and they will go out of their way to cause issues by always parking in both spaces, and do so legally.

milkyaqua · 23/02/2022 11:58

Because they ARE NOT entitled to sole use of a public space because its outside there house?

The fact they made a point of coming up outside the OP's house, staring and jeering, would suggest they do feel entitled to co-opt that space.

catscatscatseverywhere · 23/02/2022 11:58

If this space doesn't exclusively belong to your property, nothing you can do about it. Sorry. They have same rights to use this space as you do. You can come out and talk to them, so maybe they will stop blocking this space , but who knows how they react.

Ricksteinsfishwife · 23/02/2022 12:07

I’m cringing for you. Your husband could park behind you in the drive, and leave in the morning, you were already parked in first, so pretending it was so he could leave for work is a bit silly, the level of pettiness here is not good and like most folks I’d also have rolled my eyes at you.

I think if you’re going to do things like this, then you need to accept folks will think you’re a twat.

Nsky · 23/02/2022 13:01

What’s even more embarrassing is you posted this, council property is that, NOT yours, you know that.
Convert your front garden issue sorted

Seemssounfair · 23/02/2022 13:20

@milkyaqua

Because they ARE NOT entitled to sole use of a public space because its outside there house?

The fact they made a point of coming up outside the OP's house, staring and jeering, would suggest they do feel entitled to co-opt that space.

These situations only happen when two people who think they are entitled to special treatment or privileges collide and both start being ridiculous.

Due to their personalities neither will back down and the situation will escalate until one side does something that is obviously unreasonable, but without the history or context you don't see they are both as bad as each other.

girlmom21 · 23/02/2022 14:31

@milkyaqua

Because they ARE NOT entitled to sole use of a public space because its outside there house?

The fact they made a point of coming up outside the OP's house, staring and jeering, would suggest they do feel entitled to co-opt that space.

They didn't. They were walking past and probably thought OP was spying on 'her' space as she happened to conveniently be watching her car as they walked by.

Elsiebear90 · 23/02/2022 14:37

My in laws are like this and it’s ridiculous, I don’t know why people think they own the public highway outside their house. I also get called out in the night for work and we have room for one car on our drive, we just swap the cars around before we go to bed, it’s not really that difficult.

LookItsMeAgain · 23/02/2022 16:56

@Hshuznw - Well yes, except OP seems to see it as hers and set out to reclaim it.

This particular space is located directly outside the OP's home and not outside this particular neighbour's home too, right?

Why wouldn't the OP think that she would have more of a claim to use it (with it being right out side her home) than someone else who has to walk a distance to this space from their home. I realise that it is a public space but 9 times out of 10 most people in a neighbourhood would think "That must be a space that House number 4 or 6 can use only" based on where it is located.

SpiderVersed · 23/02/2022 17:13

9 times out of 10 most people in a neighbourhood would think "That must be a space that House number 4 or 6 can use only

9 out of 10 people understand no one owns parking spaces along a public road.

girlmom21 · 23/02/2022 17:14

9 times out of 10 most people in a neighbourhood would think "That must be a space that House number 4 or 6 can use only" based on where it is located.

Potentially if it was painted out with white lines.
Definitely not if it's just a part of the road.

GrendelsGrandma · 23/02/2022 17:21

You don't own the road, I'm afraid

watchingrnfire · 23/02/2022 17:28

I don't blame you op, I would do the same 😂 they don't live on the street so technically you have more right to it.
There's a guy we know, he has about 15 cars, no exaggeration, a lot of them vans and trucks, he parks all his cars in nearby streets. He doesn't use ours, but if he did I would be really annoyed.

Soontobe60 · 23/02/2022 17:35

How on earth did they know you’d moved your car onto the road if they live in the next street? Did they all accompany the person who was parked outside your house when he drove away?
The simple solution is, if the public space outside your house is free, whoever comes home first parks there so the other person can park on the drive. If it isn’t free, and you’re home second, get Dh to move his van, you park up and he parks up behind you.
If Dh is home second, he’ll be behind you anyway.

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