Neighbours being funny over parking

[seabrooks1945]

We moved into our new home 3-4 months ago. It’s a beautiful house in a nice, quiet area with good schools. The only issue is the parking situation. We have a driveway that can fit 1 small car. I park my car there, and my husband has to park his bigger car on the street right in front of me, blocking me in. So far, we’ve just been shuffling the cars around to get in and out, but with work, kids, school runs, and all the activities, it’s becoming a hassle. My husband recently started parking on the road outside our neighbours house to make things easier, but every time he moves his car, they park their car there instead. They used to always park in on the driveway until now, so it feels a bit suspicious. Are they sending us hints? Do you think it’s a good idea for us to have a conversation about it? How would you go about it?

We would like to widen the driveway eventually, but financially we’re not in a position to do so just yet.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to change the car?

No, apparently he has a big car. Huge.

Which is probably one of the reasons the neighbours don’t want it parked outside their house as it must make it hard to see when they are driving out of their drive, even if they have reversed in.

Maybe he could get rid of his ridiculously gigantic car for something more normal size. They you wouldn't have a problem.

Defenders are stupidly huge. The large model is 17' long and 6 1/2 ' tall - no one would like that monster obscuring their view!

Were you honestly not aware that the vehicle make and model was most likely responsible for the issues you are facing?

I’ve just seen, MN is festooned with ads these days which makes it very glitchy and hard to load. I must’ve missed that post initially.

Maybe this thread is actually just a stealth boast at the super duper car OP has 🤔

Just park in front of your own house. I know you don't own the space in front of your house but it's polite to park outside your own house, and not inconvenience others.

Or maybe it’s from someone bringing down Range Rover 😀

People get very territorial over parking, park there if its empty and you don't give a shit about pissing them off, or go back to parking jenga, or park somewhere else on the street.

If your husband drives a Land Rover Defender, that is one LARGE vehicle to be parking in front of someone else's homes....why does he need something so big? I get they are the 'go to' latest trend post Range Rover but unless he's using it for country pursuits, surely he can downsize cars. My DS has just got one but he has gun dogs, and is in the farming industry....

Though to be fair, the problem wouldn’t have arisen in the first place if he drove a Smart car. 🙂

I think some people buy these enormous cars before even considering the practicalities of parking the things. Does he really need it?

There are now too many huge cars on the road now - some roads are not wide enough for them!

Life is full of choices, you choose to park outside theirs when there is a space and so do they. Both are entitled to do as they please with the empty space. Nothing to see here

How though? I never understood this. Fair dos if it was blocking in someone's driveway but if it's a legitimate parking space without restrictions of course you can park there. I never stress about people parking outside my house because I don't own the street.

I am aghast that a car can be 17ft long. Aghast.

I can understand why neighbours are pissed off tbh - he's taking up two spaces in the road and potentially making it difficult for them to get in and out of their driveway

I’m with you on this…….perhaps it is a tiny teeny weeny minuscule house ?? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤣🤣

When DH and I had to block each other in @seabrooks1945, whoever left first just took whichever car was in front. 2 sets of car seats and both keys on both sets.

Alternatively squeeze the Land Rover on the drive and park the smaller car out front.

Of course it's making it more difficult for them to get out. His monstrous car is blocking their view of the road for an easy turn out/in. And it would he annoying as hell. Most people are territorial, whether it's a public road or not. And you changed the system (blocking each other in), they have reacted. They will want space for visitors etc.

No need to have a chat to them, you know how they feel because they are showing you.

My neighbour's son 'collects' old landrovers and they are parked in the street as they don't want them on the drive, but we have space for 3/4 cars outside each house so ugly yes but inconveniencing anyone no!
But even when we didn't have so much space in our old house we would park over our own drive so not to inconvenience our neighbours, we lived in a cottage in the sticks (mine before DH) and DH drives big pickups, I hated seeing it from my window and hated having to move the bloody thing to get in/out BUT that is a me problem and not my old neighbours, when we moved it was part of the criteria!

What kind of car is the big car?

From the diagram, a small part of the 'DH Car' line protrudes over the driveway entrance.

I assume if either of them could drive either car, they would have done so by now and OP wouldn't have posted - it may be that DH needs the defender for work (eg landscape gardener) or that OP is not comfortable driving a big car or doesn't have the parking for it at her workplace.

Range Rover Defender, innit.

All the information's on the task in the thread.

That's one huge car OP. Don't park that in front of your neighbours. It's not fair. I'd hate that sitting in front of my house. Have some respect for your neighbours

but what more 'reasoning' could you provide that won't already be blindingly obvious to them?

It's not like you've got disabilities or something they might not be aware of that limits you being able to park further away. They've got eyes - they can see you have 2 cars and your driveway is only big enough for 1 car, so you have to park the other car on the road. What more needs explaining?

Legally you are in the right, in that nobody owns the pavement outside their house, so you (or anyone else) are entitled to park outside their house.

However, equally it's understandable that they are annoyed that YOUR choices are negatively affecting them.

YOU chose to buy a big car (if you had 2 small cars it's likely you could fit the other outside your house without overlapping your drive).
YOU chose to buy a house with only driveway parking for 1 car.
YOU chose to park outside their house, inconveniencing them (because any visitors they have can't park there, and they have to see your large car everyday - again, perfectly legal but understandable why they find this annoying), rather that inconveniencing yourself by:
getting a smaller car/s
swapping your cars around
paving over your front garden so you have a larger driveway
parking slightly further away
inconveniencing your adjoining neighbour by overlapping his house rather than theirs.

They probably think you ARE being 'rude and cheeky' by choosing to inconvenience them, rather than yourselves or anyone else.

...but that means he's taking up TWO parking spaces by parking in the middle!?

It also is an inconvenience if they have visitors and they can't park outside, yes they don't own the space but surely it's clear that priority lies with them not a neighbour using it really, when they have their own dame size house and space. Is your husbands car massive?

Okay edited as I see your husbands car is a land rover defender. That's a massive car and to take up two spots in the street is really cheeky, and tbh kind of plays to the reputation of a suburban landrover defender driver. I say this as someone who lived in a very populated part of Surrey for many years where pavements were basically unwalkable and roads became single laned because of the sheer size of and amount of the giant things. Are you in a rural area?