annoyed woman wont move seats on train

[PrettyPleaseXo]

Currently on the train with my 5 year old. There’s loads of individual seats but none together so I’m stood next to my daughter who’s sat down next to another woman.
AIBU to be a bit annoyed she’s turned her back on my daughter to avoid eye contact and hasn’t moved to another seat so I can sit next to my daughter?

if there were no other seats I’d completely get it but there’s loads of individual ones

You can only ask, and there's nothing the matter with that (despite what the vipers think). Given her attitude so far she's not likely to agree.

Ask someone else, maybe someone in an airline seat would be happier to move.

Yes, did you think a young woman on her own looked an easy target?

I’m also intrigued as to why you picked this one woman on a train full of people to be the one who should give up her seat over everyone else?

Why don't you ask the whole carriage very loudly if anyone could please move so you can sit together. Ask nicely and make sure the man spreaders are asked

So many nasty people on here.

Just ask ffs. If she won't, someone else might.

"Nasty" because they don't think this particular woman has an obligation to leap out of the seat she's in to accommodate the OP?

The child has a seat, which is good.
You are next to the child, which is good.
I wouldn't move for you either.

I don’t think OP will answer why she picked on a young woman.

I’d offer you my seat but she may have a reason why she booked that one. I can’t travel backwards, makes me feel sick.
if she’s absorbed in her phone, she probably hasn’t even noticed you.

Possession is 9/10ths the law in these scenarios. She doesn't have to do anything.

Why can't your child sit on your knee.

At five your kid can sit by herself with you a seat behind her or a seat to her left. My mum frequently left me a row or two behind her whenever I had to get the train with her (less than 25 years ago!) when I was your daughters age.

By five a child is old enough to know that they don't go off with strangers tbh.

Stop being a martyr.

Why have you felt the need to clarify that she's a young woman?

If you need a seat beside your child catch someone's attention and ask.

@PrettyPleaseXo When you say individual seat, do mean single seats where the other passenger won’t have to sit next to anyone? Or are you hoping for this or any other passenger to move from a window seat and sit next to someone else in the aisle!

If I'm on my own I almost always offer to move if two people want to sit together. It's nice if people do, but this woman clearly doesn't want to, so move somewhere else. Sit as close to your DD as possible and continue your conversation. Guaranteed someone will offer to move.

I knew that before I posted I just hoped I’d get some people on side

Both of these things don't feel fully aligned.

Did you want to show her a MN thread about her? Did you want enough support to speak to her or someone else?

Yes, I'd offer to move if I noticed. I'm sure some others would. But, I, too, understand that not everybody would wish to do that.

Why?
If OP had manners she wouldn't focus so much on this one person who she knows nothing about.

You're ignoring all the questions about why you picked this woman to move. You sat your daughter beside her, why not anywhere else? Why have you decided she must move and not any of the other people with empty seats beside them?

The thing about moving around on a train to accommodate people sitting together is that you move for one couple then the person you've ended up sitting next to gets off at the next stop so you're sitting by yourself again and then another couple ask you to move for them and so it continues and you could end up moving seats every couple of stops.

You don't know if this woman had already moved for someone else and just wants to get through the rest of her journey without the hassle of standing up and sitting down again.

She absolutely doesn’t have to move. There may be a reason she can’t/won’t and that reason may be invisible. Or she may just not want to which is also fine.

That said, personally I always would move if there were other single seats free. For me, it’s not a big deal.

Your child is 5. Did you have to pay for a ticket? If not, why should she have a seat while adults stand?
Put her on your knee.
In future, book a ticket. And don't expect a forum to back up your unreasonable stance

You could have reserved seating. Perhaps she did. YABU.

Perhaps she's disabled and can't easily move. That's me, which is why I reserve seating. But I wouldn't be telling some stranger that. I can't believe your sense of entitlement.

I once had an entitled family ask me (well, direct me) to move. I had a window seat in a bank of four, with a table (which I was using), facing the direction of travel, and with a charging point I was using for my laptop. They to,d me to move as they were a family of three and I was by myself and could move (pointing to a seat, against the direction of travel, in a pair and without a table).

I said 'no' and they started complaining loudly about the 'mean lady' who wouldn't let them sit together. Thing is, they did - and could - sit together, o two pairs of two seats. They stopped complaint about the 'mean lady' when they saw said mean lady was just getting on with working on laptop.

Whenever I’ve moved in situations like this I haven’t really got a thanks and it’s inconvenienced me by having to move my stuff, not have a window seat and more and needing to unplug my phone. Last time I moved for an elderly couple to be able to sit next to each other one a long train journey their response was ‘that would be the best thing to do wouldn’t it’, not even a thank you.

probably won’t be moving again!

OP claims there's no reserved seating 🤔