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?

Legally you are not wrong to park there. But it's possible for something to be legal but also arrogant, inconsiderate, and oblivious (which fits with the vehicle you are choosing to drive).

I hope this has opened your eyes as to how antisocial these vehicles are.

You need to park your (presumably smaller) car on the road in front of your own house, and your DH’s on your drive. If the drive is too small it needs to be widened, or husband changes his car to something smaller.
Did you not consider this when moving?
It’s unneighbourly to park in front of their house every day, although you have the legal right to do so. It obviously irritates them, take the hint and find a better solution.

Did you not consider this when moving?

When moving, OP may have made one or both assumptions that many posters are making despite OP having explained they are incorrect ie

• that the defender would fit on the drive and/or
• that the defender would fit in front of the house without overhanging the drive

What a silly response. They are more than entitled to tell you not to park on their driveway, that doesn’t mean they have to move their car on their drive to stop you. They can leave their car parked on the road and tell you to get off their drive

Petty in my opinion and not sure why your neighbours want to park their car on the road when you they have space in the drive. Clearly to make a point. I wouldn’t bother speaking to them, they are showing they are not happy about it by their action. I guess you will just have to move your cars around until you can extend the drive. People get so worked up about people parking outside their house, I find it bizarre behaviour personally, especially when its your neighbour and you know the reason for it. They should just be glad to have 2 spaces and stop the pettiness.

especially when its your neighbour and you know the reason for it.

Do they know the reason for it? All they know is that DH used to park in one space outside his own house and he is now occupying two spaces outside their house and that of the next-NDN.

They should just be glad to have 2 spaces and stop the pettiness.

Huh? They each bought a house with a driveway, as did OP. In what way should the be “glad to have 2 spaces”?

Cars outside windows is a massive no in an ideal world, that’s why the coaches and then garages were detached and around the back in upper class homes …. It’s a first world issue but most people will not want vehicles outside of their windows!! Whether they will say this is another matter, I would guess approaching them will come across as too direct and will scupper any likelihood of positive neighbourly relations. The drive and the space in front sound like your best bet … until you can condense to one car or put the property back on the market and buy one with adequate off street parking

I’d say it’s pretty obvious they’re not happy about your husband’s car being parked outside their house. They’re trying to (clumsily) let you know that.
You’ll always get the ‘you can park anywhere you like’ comments, but if it’s upsetting your neighbours then is it worth it?
Have you got a lawned area you could pave over for his car?
And fwiw, my neighbour’s son is permanently parked outside mine. By spending out on a new drive to take our vehicles, we’ve actually facilitated that 🙂

It doesn’t help that most modern cars are too big for our roads now!

It doesn't help that lots of people are buying cars that don't fit on our existing road infrastructure and then complaining that roads/parking spaces aren't big enough and expect everyone else to accommodate them...

Sorry, that's not really helping on this thread, but it grinds my gears...

It would annoy me if I was your neighbour. Create another drive where your garden is, if you must have two cars including one massive one. Maybe your neighbours have discussed getting a second car and decided that it would be antisocial to park it, now they’re annoyed you’ve beat them to it.
Who knows why they’re annoyed, but they are definitely trying to send you a message.

I wouldn't want that sitting outside my house either. That's really antisocial, even if it is perfectly legal to park anywhere on a public street.

Great idea! 😁

If I was your NDN I’d be very unhappy seeing your DH’s ugly vehicle outside my house too.
If you want to live in a ‘nice area’ then you need to understand that means being a nice, considerate person too, and not upsetting everyone with your yobbish entitled behaviour.

I wonder whether it truly does not fit - a drive would be so tiny as to look odd for that to be true - or whether it is just so big as to be a tight fit, look out of place (which it is), and block the view.

OP hasn’t addressed this point.

Our road is so busy. Every car has one driveway and there’s road space outside of the house for one but three houses around us have three cars with at least one being an SUV or van.

We only park on the drive if there’s no space on the road because

• if we have visitors there’ll be no where to park,
• we can’t get bins or bikes out if the car’s on the drive,
• when all the road spaces are taken the visibility is very poor coming out of the drive
• the drive is narrow and it’s actually a lot of effort to park on the drive

i don’t complain to the neighbours for parking outside my house. They’re allowed. but if they’ve chosen to buy three cars in a house with one driveway I’m not going to inconvenience myself to accommodate them.

I would also be extremely peeved if one of said neighbours asked me to park on my driveway to consider their three cars.

Landrover Defender 😅

You were daft to buy the house without adequate parking knowing you had a car like that. I think it's unreasonable of your husband to park it in the middle of the two houses as shown on your diagram thereby taking up 2 spaces on the road and he should park it outside your house and you both be mildly inconvenienced by having to move it.
Or get rid of it. Problem solved.

My batshit neighbour brought home a massive SUV to test drive when she recently wanted a new car. I've had problems with her parking too far over in the shared carport for a long time so my heart sank when that fucking thing appeared as I couldn't get my car in at all. But after a day she spoke to me about it and said she liked the car but it was too big for the carport and she bought something else instead.

This may be less about your neighbours being territorial and more about the vehicle itself. Your DH's car is absolutely enormous (and I say that as someone with a Dacia Duster, which is hardly a matchbox) and it very likely obstructs your neighbour's view when leaving their drive.

Unless your DH regularly transports ground-to-air missiles, he probably doesn't need a car that big.

Unless your DH regularly transports ground-to-air missiles, he probably doesn't need a car that big.

😂

Defender is 2m high min & it will most likely obscur / block view of oncoming traffic. I can see why they would be pissed off as would have to nudge out of their driveway with limited visibility
Even at minimum length driveway the defender would be able to fit on (just). Unless this is the moment you realise it was sold with off street parking cos it doesn’t actually have a driveway

Unless your DH regularly transports ground-to-air missiles, he probably doesn't need a car that big.

Love this!

We have to move out cars in and out driveway to let other out. So that's basically the same for you. You just need to get used to it. It's a pain but in being respectful it's worth it

I'd have a friendly chat with them, before this escalates any further. So many times uncomfortable situations with neighbours are simply down to a lack of communication. Good luck.

Is there enough room to widen your drive to take two cars? Who leaves the house first in the morning? Whoever it is should be on the street. If you’re going to be living there for the foreseeable future, then it makes sense to get it sorted one way or the other.

And say what exactly?

God you're a nasty person.