# Neighbors who simply MUST park in front of my house **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 19, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571 "2012-12-19T20:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/121 "2012-12-21T04:59:11Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Could you have had it towed for blocking the mailbox? > > One nice thing about my current apartment building: lots of parking, and one can even reserve a specific space for a reasonable monthly fee. Yeah, we picked a space we found convenient that wasn’t already claimed and now pay to reserve it. It’s worth it when lugging heavy groceries, etc. Yes, that was our legal right. We did not do so, since we value getting along with our neighbors. 🙂 The situation sucked for a week, then went away. We don’t expect to have another problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/122 "2012-12-21T05:35:46Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > Yes, that was our legal right. We did not do so, since we value getting along with our neighbors. 🙂 The situation sucked for a week, then went away. We don’t expect to have another problem with it. Personally, people who render me unable to get my mail for a week (thus exposing me to financial or administrative problems) are making it clear they couldn’t care less about getting along with me, and I’m not going to take late fees on bills, etc., because of them blocking my mail. I try to be nice, but that kind of thing is over my limit. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/123 "2012-12-21T06:40:56Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I hope you don’t own any guns. Actually, since they always say “he was so quiet, we never saw this coming” it sounds like we should be worried about you owning guns. > [@elbows](#): > > None of the defenders of this have yet answered the question, posted twice now; > > Would it bother you if it was a different car everyday? If not, why? In my case, it was essentially a different car everyday; the neighbors with the extra cars park all over the place, forcing other neighbors to park in front of our house instead in front of their own houses. > [@](#): > > And I’m not seeing how anybody else walking the earth is obligated to follow a lot of ‘unwritten’ rules, or why you would expect everybody to know what you deem polite. :rolleyes: It’s been explained plenty of times and it boils down to two separate issues; either the offender is parking there because they don’t like to park in front of their own house - if they don’t like looking at their car, why inflict it on someone else? Or, it’s a matter of logistics, such as my being unable to put out trash cans, which is a weekly occurrence, or they slop over into my driveway because they’ve put two cars there that don’t fit. You really cannot tell me that they think it’s polite to leave me no where to put my trash cans every Tuesday, or to make it difficult to get out of my own driveway. > [@](#): > > If I go to the beach and a guy turns up with a machine blasting rap music, yes I would be annoyed. I might even politely ask him to turn it off. But if he refuses, as an adult, knowing the law, I would have to suck it up and just get up and move. Expecting him to know my unwritten rules or abide my interpretation of what’s polite seems utterly ridiculous. Actually, I’d feel quite sure that anyone blasting rap “music” anywhere is fully aware that they are being rude, but that aside what you are describing is a one off thing, not the daily problem of dealing with neighbors being rude. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/124 "2012-12-21T09:46:46Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Ha Ha Ha! Thanks for the laugh! This is, of course at the very root of the problem. You think people parking in a public street owe you an explanation. Please show me where I said (or implied) that. Please quote me. Failing that, please admit I said no such thing and apologize. > [@](#): > > And you’re saying it depends on who it is? You get to decide who is worthy? Sure of course. The identity of the actor makes a difference in my assessment of whether they are being rude. I take it that for you, the identity is completely irrelevant? > [@](#): > > This is the very reason this is covered in the law, so people like you don’t get to decide who can park where! Ok, so your position is that (1) as long as it’s legal, there is no use of public property which is rude; and (2) the identity and motivations of an actor are irrelevant to assessing whether his conduct is rude. Do you I understand you correctly? > [@](#): > > Very well done indeed! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/125 "2012-12-21T09:50:15Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What you don’t understand is the concept of choosing your battles. Why do you say that? What did I say to give that impression? > [@](#): > > You’re going to blow a head gasket worrying about all the petty shit that seems to bother you so much. So anyone who occasionally gets annoyed or frustrated is likely to “blow a head gasket”? And please answer my questions from before: 1. Do you seriously believe that someone (unlike you) who occasionally honks the horn of his car in anger or frustration necessarily presents a significant risk of going on a shooting spree? 2. Do you agree with me that there are things which are (1) done on public property; (2) completely legal; and (3) annoying. Annoying to the average person, I mean. Not to you and your friends who never ever get annoyed. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/126 "2012-12-21T11:27:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by elbows View Post > Ha Ha Ha! Thanks for the laugh! This is, of course at the very root of the problem. You think people parking in a public street owe you an explanation. > Please show me where I said (or implied) that. Please quote me. Failing that, please admit I said no such thing and apologize. Gladly! Here you go > [@](#): > > It would depend on **who** was parking in front of my house and **why**. > [@](#): > > 1. Do you seriously believe that someone (unlike you) who occasionally honks the horn of his car in anger or frustration necessarily presents a significant risk of going on a shooting spree? No one has said or implied this either. And what the hell is wrong with your town that mail delivery ceases and garbage pickup is blocked by a legally parked car? That don’t fly in my town. > [@](#): > > Ok, so your position is that (1) as long as it’s legal, there is no use of public property which is rude; and (2) the identity and motivations of an actor are irrelevant to assessing whether his conduct is rude. No one said this either. Are you even trying to understand what others are posting? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/127 "2012-12-21T11:43:17Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Personally, people who render me unable to get my mail for a week (thus exposing me to financial or administrative problems) are making it clear they couldn’t care less about getting along with me, and I’m not going to take late fees on bills, etc., because of them blocking my mail. Actually, they simply may not know. My daughter’s boyfriend blocked our mailbox the first time he visited my daughter, even though there was plenty of room to pull forward. He’s a supremely polite kid – he brought us both flowers on his first visit – but he was unfamiliar with the way things are done in the 'burbs. His mail had always been delivered by a walking mailman, so it simply didn’t dawn on him that you shouldn’t block mailboxes. In a similar situation, we went bowling as a team builder at work the other day. One co-worker had never bowled before. He walked up and threw the ball right after he picked it up, which happened to be just as the person to his immediate left was ready to throw her ball. Having never bowled before, he didn’t realize that it was protocol to stagger. So we told him. Sometimes people aren’t trying to be assholes; they just need to be politely taught the rules. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/128 "2012-12-21T13:10:15Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Gladly! Here you go That’s different from asserting that somebody owes me an explanation. > [@](#): > > No one has said or implied this either. Sure they did. “I hope you don’t own any guns.” > [@](#): > > And what the hell is wrong with your town that mail delivery ceases and garbage pickup is blocked by a legally parked car? That don’t fly in my town. What are you talking about? I never said or implied any such thing. > [@](#): > > No one said this either. Sure they did. You yourself implied these things a few posts back. In any event, I have my own rules of debate, and one rule is that I do not engage with people who insist on strawmanning and weaseling. You have done both repeatedly. Thus I am no longer engaging with you. Goodbye, liar. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/129 "2012-12-21T14:08:17Z")
Personally, I can’t stand it when I look out my window and my neighbor is walking down the sidewalk wearing a green coat. He should know that I don’t find that color flattering in a coat, what’s wrong with him! Why isn’t the world following the strict rules I have written on stone tablets in my imagination? It’s almost like he’s just going around minding his own business. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/130 "2012-12-21T14:37:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Ok, so your position is that (1) as long as it’s legal, there is no use of public property which is rude > [@elbows](#): > > No one said this either. Are you even trying to understand what others are posting? Then what, exactly, does this mean? > [@](#): > > And I’m not seeing how anybody else walking the earth is obligated to follow a lot of ‘unwritten’ rules, or why you would expect everybody to know what you deem polite. > > That’s why we have laws, so there’s no guessing. If not to say that laws are there so we don’t have to guess what is and isn’t appropriate behavior. Because, that’s how I read it, and the corollary that is to assume that legal behavior is also polite behavior, or at least that one shouldn’t complain about legal behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/131 "2012-12-21T14:48:36Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > … > In my case, it was essentially a different car everyday; the neighbors with the extra cars park all over the place, forcing other neighbors to park in front of our house instead in front of their own houses. > … A **different car** parked in front of your house every day? You just don’t understand the concept of a public road, do you? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/132 "2012-12-21T15:26:34Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I don’t think so, but mainly because it’s evidently not obvious that there is a problem. A few months ago, I saw a house where the owner had put up two little signs asking people not to park too close to his driveway so that he could get out. Well, it’s not evident that there’s a problem because there is no problem. I’m not talking about people who can’t pull out of the driveway because others are parked too close- I’m talking about people who choose not to pull into their driveway for whatever reason and want to park across the front of it. On a street where most houses don’t have driveways and therefore nearly everyone must park on the street. The one with the driveway near the hydrant just gets annoyed. The one who didn’t know how to park would actually ring people’s bells to demand that they move. The response she usually got was “pull into your driveway”. > [@](#): > > I do think it would be rude to violate his request, even if it’s legal to do so. Assuming that the person parking their car had a choice of parking spots, of course. See, this is the part I just don’t get- “assuming that the person had a choice of parking spots”. If you weren’t actually there when they parked, how could you make that assumption? Yes, I understand that people know when it’s easy to park or difficult to park , but that doesn’t tell you specifically that Neighbor A was able to park in front of his own house when he got home- maybe one of Neighbor B’s guests or the cable guy was parked there. My husband gets annoyed all the time about people taking up two spaces with three cars. We know some people do it deliberately to save a spot for a third car, but most of the time it’s because larger vehicles left one at a time and were replaced by smaller ones and there’s really nothing anyone (including the owners of the parked cars) can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/133 "2012-12-21T17:09:14Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > And what the hell is wrong with your town that mail delivery ceases and garbage pickup is blocked by a legally parked car? That don’t fly in my town. My town doesn’t have ordinances posted online but I found [this](http://www.brandon.govoffice.com/vertical/sites/%7B23CB10F0-8C35-4CA4-9AD1-B693F0F58E76%7D/uploads/%7B5A413FC1-B5FF-44F6-9655-4105679C546C%7D.PDF) for a town nearby. Notice it says that parking is prohibited within 15 feet of a USPS mailbox. I would imagine my town has something similar. One thing to remember, these are drive-up, rural type mailboxes. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/134 "2012-12-21T17:12:04Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Would it bother you if it was a different car everyday? If not, why? \ See thats the thing. I live in a fairly stable neighborhood where we all know each others’ cars for the most part. If it was a different car every day the person could be presumed to be at home or at least the possibility of leaving a note on the car that “I will need this space tomorrow for construction workers coming” would be feasible since they would be going to the car sometime during the day. But these neighbors (who are fond of putting nasty notes on whatever cars are parked in front of their own houses so they must know it can be annoying) will park in the one space in front of my house instead of the 2-3 EMPTY spaces in front of their own houses. :smack: Then they leave for days at a time so that no one can go up to their doors and ask them to move politely. This could be some sort of “new neighbor hazing practice”, except we have lived here 17 years and it still happens. Also we all have long driveways and multiple car garages. Why cant they move their ONE car in the garage over so that at least ONE of their 4 daughters can also park in the garage or on the street in their own 2 parking spots? They even told us they would do that, but it doesnt happen. ☹ I dont just fret over anyone who happens to park in front - its the fact that I cant find them (for days at a time) to move their damn cars on the rare occasions that I do need to use the space. And that is what makes me … feddup ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/135 "2012-12-21T17:24:51Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > See, this is the part I just don’t get- “assuming that the person had a choice of parking spots”. If you weren’t actually there when they parked, how could you make that assumption? The same way you make any assumption – based on your general knowledge of life as well as on specific knowledge such as the parking conditions in the area. Look, even you witnessed the neighbor park in front of your house and dump his garbage on your front lawn, you could never know for sure what choices he was facing. It’s possible that terrorists kidnapped his family and advised him that his family would be released unharmed if he dumped some garbage on your front lawn. If I came home one day and saw my neighbor’s car parked in front of my house, I wouldn’t think anything of it. I would assume that the city had been doing work in front of the person’s house and he was somehow prevented from parking front of his own house. If it started to happen every day, I would start to believe it was the result of rudeness. > [@](#): > > My husband gets annoyed all the time about people taking up two spaces with three cars. We know some people do it deliberately to save a spot for a third car, but most of the time it’s because larger vehicles left one at a time and were replaced by smaller ones and there’s really nothing anyone (including the owners of the parked cars) can do about it. I agree that some people are too quick in jumping to conclusions. Some people are over-sensitive and perceive slights everywhere. At the same time, there are other people who take delight in trivializing other peoples’ grievances. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/136 "2012-12-21T21:32:48Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Personally, people who render me unable to get my mail for a week (thus exposing me to financial or administrative problems) are making it clear they couldn’t care less about getting along with me, and I’m not going to take late fees on bills, etc., because of them blocking my mail. > > I try to be nice, but that kind of thing is over my limit. I have a nice mailman. He brings packages that are too big to fit in our (oversize) mailbox to our door, because most of the time, my husband is home to sign for them. Hubby told him what was going on with the vehicle, and the mailman delivered anyway, since he likes to do our cul-de-sac on foot when the weather is good. We put the cans in the middle of the driveway so the trash guys wouldn’t be put out. My biggest concern was that I might clip the back bumper of his SUV when I backed out of the garage, but I managed to not hit it! 😛 So, we still have a neighbor that we get along with, and none of his kids or their S/O’s park in front of our house AT ALL anymore! I may need this guy to pay for half of a fence replacement at some point, and it’s better to be on speaking terms! ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/137 "2012-12-22T04:15:22Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > A **different car** parked in front of your house every day? You just don’t understand the concept of a public road, do you? You just don’t understand the concept of context, do you? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/138 "2012-12-22T08:00:14Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Then what, exactly, does this mean? Lol, it’s a bit of a mystery. My guess is that some people take great delight in trivializing other peoples’ grievances. Emotionally, it gives them a feeling of smug superiority. Having emotionally decided to do so, they then seize upon any argument – logical or not – to feed their narcissistic cravings. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/139 "2012-12-22T15:25:28Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > Lol, it’s a bit of a mystery. My guess is that some people take great delight in trivializing other peoples’ grievances. Emotionally, it gives them a feeling of smug superiority. Having emotionally decided to do so, they then seize upon any argument – logical or not – to feed their narcissistic cravings. Bingo. Welcome to The Straight Dope, where people clamor to appear to be\* the most\* colorblind, everyone is a Zen master, and \*everyone \*thinks of the children! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571/140 "2012-12-22T16:02:52Z")
I was going to come back and post but saw brazil and curlcoat. So instead I’ll just run repeatedly into a wall head first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-who-simply-must-park-in-front-of-my-house/644571.md?page=8)