To run away screaming from the local Jubilee street party?

[PartyHater]

I’m sure in some areas a street party might be a lovely thing to take the dc to. I’m imagining freshly cut green lawns, face painting, everyone enjoying themselves and maybe being just a little bit merry.

But that isn’t my area.

My area is fucking terrifying on a normal Monday morning (really, some man attempted to get me in to his house last Monday AM when I was walking the dog after the school run, asking me if I ‘smoked bruv’) let alone a Friday where everyone has arranged to meet in the street outside my house.

The leaflet said there would be face painting and a little something for the adults. Knowing this area, that little something will be copious amounts of drugs, alcohol and it will be considered a boring night if at least a few faces don’t get smashed in or houses/cars vandalised. My youngest son has autism and is noise sensitive, and I know that the ‘party’ will not finish until 4am at the earliest.

We are planning to travel on the said Friday morning to a large nearby forest for the day, taking a picnic, and then staying in a cheap hotel for the night that allows dogs.

DM, who lives in a similar area, says we are being ridiculous. She says that the dc will love it and she is sure that everyone will be well behaved because there are children there (not sure why that would be the case when they don’t seem to care about that usually). She now has the huff with me as I have insisted we are sticking to running away to the woods for the day.

In this scenario, am I being unreasonable?

I'm not backtracking. At all. Just to make that clear.

Low earners move aswell.
Moving happens across most income spectrums.

Low earners move aswell.
Moving happens across most income spectrums.

If you can't afford a rental deposit, or can't find a landlord who will accept you because you have some rent paid by universal credit, it can be extremely hard actually. I can't find any landlord who will accept me currently.

Some people have council houses. They can apply to swap out to a nicer area, but that means a council family in a nice area have to be willing to move to the bad area....

Growing up, there is no way my mum could have afforded to move house on her own. Low-paid job, three kids, benefits. Lucky for her she got a council house, not in best area. She can't then afford to give that up. She did go back to school and became a TA. But still had to support 3 kids as a single mum. She's never going to afford a mortgage, she's not going to give up a stable and secure council house for an insecure expensive rental property that she could he asked to vacate on the whim/need of the landlord.

I live in a council house, no way would I give that up even if I could afford to rent privately in a better area

Agree. Our awfully middle class village will descend into madness real quick.

We're going away.

jesus i dont live in a great area you know why cant afford anything else why are some people so obtuse

I think our version of carnage (very similar party but throw in a pilot with duty free booze) is very different to the OP sadly. I fully expect drunken antics, bad language the lot and someone to be throwing up by the end of the night. However no one will be bringing drugs and I don't worry someone will end up fighting.

The worst our neighbours can expect is if I fall asleep the lads will be in the hot tub at 3am

In the current climate it's going to be more difficult than ever for people to move.

Ignore your mother you can do what you want. Another republican so I won't be celebrating. Just an extra day off.

@KettrickenSmiled @PartyHater

Great to see two other, and there's probably more, RH fans on one thread!
I was considering a read from the beginning of the Fitz books, but haven't got round to it. Sad when it all ended.

No need to apologise, Kettriken. I'm too used to Mumsnet, over the years, to get offended easily. I thought it might have looked like I was making excuses for people.

Peak Mumsnet good god, like it's an actual choice at all for many people!!

Fuck me, I bet no-one ever thought of just moving from the shit holes they're trapped in. Thank fuck you've come along with your brilliant ideas!

Not speaking for Oblomov but it looks like she was clumsily trying to show sympathy for the OP's situation.

Accidently misusing an expression or making an unfortunate typo is ‘clumsy’. Demanding to know why the OP and anyone else who lives in a less than salubrious area is there and why they’re not pushing day and night to escape to somewhere more socially acceptable is going straight in with a steamroller.

Why did @Oblomov22even have to ask this question anyway? No one else felt the need to question why the OP lives where she does. Everyone else stuck to the topic. Only one person felt the need to be stupidly goady and then frantically backtrack - trotting out the usual excuse that the rest of us obviously haven’t read her posts properly. I think we’ve read them all too accurately.

@KettrickenSmiled I just think most people in most places are fundamentally quite nice, even in “dodgy” areas. But if you never talk to them, you’ll never know. If there’s something being organised, especially for kids, it sounds like there’s probably a community worth discovering and forming connections with

Why would you assume that OP hasn't talked to her neighbours, or assessed the potential of forming connections with them @pinata?

All she's doing is avoiding - especially for the sake of her ND child - a rowdy shindig which, in her direct experience, is bound to end in shouting, vandalism, & fights - right outside her door.

No amount of community connection is going to stop that happening, no matter how many of her neighbours are quite nice. I'm sure they are. But OP knows what is going to happen at this street party better than any PP, & I'm finding it odd that PP are looking to 'correct' her own risk assessment for her own family. Especially as the whole theme of the thread was essentially "Why is my mother looking to correct my decisions?"

I speak as an ex-council flat occupant from a v dodgy estate, btw

It's hell in the Gateau!

YANBU. I’m sure your neighbours mean well, and it’s nice that they included you, but you don’t have to go if they, or street parties, aren’t your cup of tea.

Just pack a nice picnic, check the weather forecast and head out somewhere nice for the day. And enjoy!

Don’t blame you at all. That’s definitely what we will be doing by then!

Like if you're on minimum wage it's easy. Yabu.

Good for you OP - keep pushing your escape plan forward! You will get where you want to be with your determination.
As for Jubilee Parties - urgh, not for me - a Republican.