To want the car to move!

[honeyandbutterontoast]

Looking for honest opinions here because I’m aware this may make me seem like an AH.

I live in a road where the majority of houses don’t have drives. We park on the road. I knew that when I bought the house, it’s not permit parking but there is usually space for two small cars in front of my house. It has never been a problem in the time I’ve lived here, occasionally if there’s a local event I’ve had to park up the road for a few hours if I’ve been out, or for an evening.

Four weeks ago I came home from work to find a big car taking up both spaces outside. So I parked elsewhere. The car is still there.

Nobody has been to it, or moved it in that time and frankly I’m getting annoyed. I have to now park a long way from my house (else I’m in someone else’s space), which has been annoying with heavy bags of food shopping, or if I’m going out with the dog/DC. It’s meant if my mum has visited she’s also had to park elsewhere, again not ideal.

But what can I do? No point leaving a note as nobody has been to the car in that time (it’s right outside my window so I would see). None of the neighbours know who it belongs to either. It seems a stupid thing to get stressed about but I just want to be able to park outside my house!

I live on a street with some houses having drives and some with no parking. The residents are all pretty considerate of one another, and most of the time we can park our one car near our house.

Every year there is a music festival nearby, the organisers put stewards on the local streets to ensure residents can park. It works well. There is also a football ground quite close. I never take my car out on match days, it’s mayhem.

Strangers do park, I suppose when their streets are full, but to leave a car somewhere for several weeks just feels a bit off.

It would still be classed as criminal damage. It doesn’t have to be permanent.

It's legally parked

My car hasn’t moved in four weeks, but it’s on my drive. Before we had our drive it would’ve been parked by someone else’s house as you can’t park on the road outside our house. It’s been Christmas so it doesn’t seem an abnormally long time for it to be parked there, and I can’t see the council towing it…

It’s so depressing reading posts from people saying “it’s perfectly legal, OP is being entitled, you can’t expect to have a space outside your house, anyone can park wherever they want as long as it’s legal”. Of course is this true, from a purely legal perspective. But do people genuinely care so little about others, that they’re prepared to wilfully inconvenience them, for their own selfish desires?

Of course, like everyone else, I've parked on residential streets for a few hours if I’m visiting somewhere locally, but I wouldn’t dream of leaving my car there for several weeks, and nor would I park there regularly, knowing it would make life harder for someone else. Why would anyone deliberately make somebody else’s life harder, just because they legally could?

“Legally” and “twat” are not mutually exclusive.

We live on a street with virtually no off street parking. Everyone who lives here is incredibly respectful of each other’s spaces. If there’s ever another car outside our house I can guarantee it’s someone who doesn’t live here. Four weeks would absolutely do my head in.

Do you ever park your car on the road outside other people's houses? Or do you always park in a car park?

How juvenile. And criminal.

Thank you.

I don't own a car.

There is always someone parked outside my house. Those 'couple if hours' generally add up to a 24 hr period where I live.

Just because I don't have a car, doesn't mean I want yours parked outside my house....

I'd rather not have pollution in my street.. or cars idling waiting for others to join them. Or sitting in their idling cars eating lunch. Or just hanging out.

Occasionally yes. If I’m just popping home at lunchtime. Or I’ve done it before and then moved my car as soon as the person outside my house moved. I’ve never left my car for a long time outside someone else’s house. If I’ve had building work etc I’ve moved my car right up the road so their van can park outside.

Wow, "getting annoyed is human nature"? Well, who would have thought it? Yes, we understand the irritation factor, but that's not the point. Most of us have evolved sufficiently to know that even when other people behave inconsiderately, if they aren't behaving illegally, there's little we can do about it (and we have more important things to expend that emotional energy on).
In the early days of our marriage, DH and I lived in a terraced house in a large city a mile from the football stadium. If we timed our Saturday shopping outing badly when there was a home match, we couldn't park 10 roads away from our house, let alone outside. Did we get annoyed? No, because the house was all we could afford at the time and we knew parking would be an issue. It just meant that occasionally my sister, who lived that bit further away (and had a drive), would get us pitching up for a cup of tea until the match had finished and the roads had cleared.

If I bought a house with no driveway I would expect that some days I may not be able to park outside my home and some days I’d be lucky to be able to do so.

4 weeks and the car hasn’t moved and I’d also be a bit annoyed and would contact the police to double check it is not stolen or abandoned.

But they could park up the road? Particularly if they knew the car would be there for an extended period and it was clear the road was parked on by the residents? If they knew they would not be driving that car for a month yet would be in a space that was in daily use?

yes I think that’s selfish. I think people should be more considerate.

The poster who said they couldn’t park outside their house after a night shift? That wouldn’t happen here. They could park because their neighbours would be considerate.

I may be entitled but I think we should think of others a bit more. I don’t own the road of course, but neither does the driver of the car that’s there.

This has worried me! I have moved and hardly use my car now, yet I want to keep it to see if I need it. It is taxed (£0 but registered as such), MoT'd and insured; plus I pay for a parking permit. I do start it and drive it a little but to most people (unless they're looking out of their windows all the time!) it would look like it didn't move since I usually get the same spot when I return. I would be so upset to find it gone!

You can check if it's stolen on isitnicked.com

Yes, but one doesn't expect an abandoned car to sit in front of one's home for four week's, either.

OP isn't complaining because the neighbour's BIL parked in front of her house for a Christmas visit. The abandoned vehicle has been there for a month. Can one seriously not comprehend the difference, before finger-wagging at her?

@MumblesParty

sorry you are wrong
I am not saying it’s perfect to park there but moaning about someone being there is so self entitled it’s untrue

both need to get real
And stop playing the nice émotional card

dear me

next you will be complaining the GP didn’t give you antibiotics for a sore throat and how there are such long queues at the surgery

You wouldn’t find it gone if you’ve got a parking permit.

As others have said, it's a road where anyone can park for a set time before you can report. My mum bought a cheaper house after her
Divorce when we were kids which didn't have a driveway so she paid to get the kerb dropped before saving to have a driveway built, that's always 2 solutions you could consider. Unfortunately some houses have neither a drive or a space due to yellow lines etc so they have to park in surrounding areas so it's a bit of a bum fight without proper parking

A lot of us are 'lovely people'...a tyre let down would indicate your displeasure, but obviously not when some posters are on the case.

@honeyandbutterontoast

you are not thinking of the person who parked it there!

why do you assume they are not nice or considerate

they parked a car legally on the road

the end

rhe fact that you can’t park near is also probably due to others