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?

Do you have a smaller car than the defender? If so, could you park on the road and your husband in the driveway?

I kinda get where the neighbours are coming from

when we bought our house the plan showed a double garage, side by side. When we moved in there was a car parked on one side of the drive. We then found out the builders had made a mistake and next door now owned that half of the garage and it was now two singles. We hadn’t clicked when we got the docs to sign at exchange so it was on us

No dramas, we only had one car

fast forward 20 years and we now have 2 cars, till Covid we had no issues parking - the only place where there is room on street (and surrounding streets) we can park is along side our house. There is no other on street parking as all houses have double drives or have space opposite each other where you can’t park both sides as the street is too narrow

opposite us is a cul de sac. They all have 3 parking spaces off street - no on street

There is a postman. We assume to not wake his family he parks outside our bedroom window, completely blocking my exit view off my drive! We get woken at 4am 6 mornings a week by slamming door, rev engine and loud radio. I have a beaten up van to look at out my dining room window so that’s our view having a nice sit down meal

We guard that space with our cars. Is it ‘ours’ - no but are we being unreasonable? I don’t think so - I’ve had so many near misses leaving my drive as I literally cannot see cars approaching- I just have to open my window and try and listen for cars coming

This is my view of my drive. We can’t park opposite as the road is too narrow to park on both sides of the road

Thank you for this post. It is my favourite sort of MN post. And yes, I realise that this says all sorts of terrible things about my own personality failings. It starts out reasonable, with a problem, how should I handle it??Then the back up information turns it into something so utterly obvious as the poster's fault. The original question of 'why would my neighbour not be ok with this?' becomes so amusingly obvious, the poster so fantastically tone deaf. Most of MN gives reasonable answers but the OP still doesn't get it and wants the world to agree with them. She wants to keep her trophy car that she has no space for. She wants her neighbour to just be ok with it. It brings a light hearted smile to my day. I am all 'team neighbour'... what a wonderful passive aggressive response to just reclaim the two street spaces without fuss or bother.

Out of curiosity. If there is a car parked on the road outside your house, what difference does it make to you if it’s yours or not? I can’t understand why it would matter to the neighbours if it’s a case of would rather look
at their own.

I don’t think there’s an issue with OP or her husband parking there, I don’t think it’s reasonable to have expected them to buy a different house because of the driveway because they are parked legally and I’m sure they are insured for on street parking so I don’t see the problem.

I don’t think anyone is saying OP can’t park there, but that’s not OP’s question. OP is annoyed at her neighbour parking outside their own house because she wants to instead!

There’s all sorts of minor inconveniences of someone parking outside your house when it’s not you, different shift patterns so being disturbed early in the morning or in the middle of the day by slamming doors right beside your property, parking too close to your drive to allow good visibility, other people possibly not being as considerate and parking over the path meaning if you live there with a buggy or wheelchair it’s hard to use the pavement. But these are minor things, no one is saying the neighbour owns the space, but OP wants the neighbour to move to her car can occupy the space outside two houses rather than her own, because outside her own inconveniences her, which is just so tone deaf.

I might be completely missing something here but if you could only park a small car on the road without blocking your drive and you have a small car then couldn't your husband park on the drive and you on the road?

Op has driven off into the distance in her defender.

If you don’t want a neighbour dispute you need to widen your drive and park yhe land-rover in front of your window/house im sure it won’t cost too much for some slabs (with you and hubby doing the work to lay them) until you can convert your garden into a driveway. Problem solved ?

You say 'It’s a beautiful house in a nice, quiet area with good schools'.

Sometimes when people move from more crowded areas where parking on the pavements etc is the norm, they don't realise that people in nice, quiet areas value different things, like views across the street, rather than cars lined up in front of their windows.

Our road is a cul de sac with lovely views up into countryside. There are actually some covenants which say you can't have hedges and trees above a certain height in the front gardens as the original design was for an open vista. Every house has enough parking on driveways for at least two cars, yet neighbours always seem to be leaving cars on the road, and often half across the pavement, as it's not wide enough otherwise. It's ugly and horrible, and the older residents hate it.

Yes, you have a 'right' to park in front of their house, but you risk creating poor neighbour relationships. Are you hoping to make any changes to the house/ get planning permission for anything in the future?

Are they sending us hints?
Yes
Do you think it’s a good idea for us to have a conversation about it?
Conversation about what? If they can't have the space free, they decided they'd rather park there themselves than have your land-rover there. Which is their right.

How would you go about it?
You can continue playing the musical chairs with on street parking. Or you can find some way more convenient for everyone. You can't expect the neighbours to consoder the place as defacto yours, they just have zero reason to do that.

Can you not see how inconsiderate it is that your husband parks in between both houses meaning he is occupying 2 spaces? Wouldn’t you be annoyed if someone did that to you?

They are having to park on the road to ensure there is space if they have visitors and probably to prove a point which I don’t blame them for.

You’re being selfish. Just park across your drive and manage the moving of cars like many people who only have a driveway for 1 car do.

Or the Scoobymobile

Maybe she’s still circling for 2 free parking spaces!

How about he goes back to blocking you in and you give up the "his car, my car" nonsense and whoever goes out takes the car at the front, whoever is back first parks on the drive etc. Just share the cars and the parking.

You’re not rude or cheeky. You have every right to park there. They’re being bonkers and clearly one of those people who think they own the road in front of them.

super annoying but if the space is free - park there; if it’s not then it’s the driveway shuffle.

is there any way you ca increase size of your driveway?

It's not op and hubby who are being cheeky! They are perfectly entitled to park on the public road. The ndn's are being right arseholes, petty and small minded.

@seabrooks1945 I would just ignore them. If they're in the space you want to use then your DH should just park immediately in front of them so that they have to back up / manoeuvre to get their car out (two can play at that game).

We used to have a post woman who lived in the next village and kept the van outside my house. She’d drive her car here, swap to the van and then do her rounds. I tried complaining because it’s against their policy to park causing an issue for residents, but she persisted. Unfortunately one day I could only just squeeze into the space in front of her and my husband could only just manage to squeeze in behind and as we were both out when she came the next morning she was unable to get out of the space.

4 houses. 4 driveways. 6 cars.
What's hard to understand???

I shock have a house with no drive at all and yet I own a car.
Quite common I think not to have a driveway and to have to park on the road?

What?!! How are the neighbours being arseholes or small minded for parking on the street just like OP!

OP doesn’t own the space just because she needs 3 parking spots for their 2 cars.

Our street is the same, people park on the street in front of their house to stop others doing so. Result is line of cars parked along the street and driveways left empty, quite funny really. One neighbour waits for other neighbour to move then they immediately hop into that space, its become toxic and wouldn't surprise me if they start taking the bus out of spite 😂

What was your plan for parking it when you bought the house? You knew it wouldn't fit on the drive.

Taking up two spaces outside your neighbour's houses is CF behaviour. Your husband is preventing anyone else parking and blocking their clear view from their own driveways while leaving yours unobstructed.

Knock down your garden wall and park it on your garden until you can afford a proper driveway. Land rovers are off road vehicles so the garden is fine to park.

Not read the full thread but would your DH putting his car on the drive and you park your smaller car on the road mean you don't have to shuffle cars all the time.

In what way is it a pain if you have a driveway for your own car and it's not being blocked?

I hate people parking outside my house.