4 ms·

I have gotten in not one, but several, extremely heated discussions over the years after parking on a public street in front of somebody's house. I'm not a big

by warcher 10y ago

I have gotten in not one, but several, extremely heated discussions over the years after parking on a public street in front of somebody's house. I'm not a big defender of, say, Airbnb running gypsy hotels in secret defiance of leasing and HOA agreements, but people have a lot of funny ideas about ownership of things that aren't theirs to own.

enjo 10y ago
It seems to me that you see this problem mostly in suburbs. People didn't buy a house, they bought a lifestyle. A particular lifestyle that has no room for even the slightest inconvenience from others. During my suburban days I was always sort of amazed by the entitlement people had around me. I saw near fistfights over people parking in front of other peoples houses. Or a particularly memorable argument in which people shouted out of their kitchen window at a group of kids who were doing nothing but sitting on a deck talking at 8:00 PM. My HOA sued the town I lived in because someone wanted to build an apartment building about 1/4 mile from the front entrance of the subdivision (don't want "those" people living nearby after all). The HOA also was part of a larger group opposing the extension of a light rail line that would connect our town to the larger metroplex. The same argument was used in that case, "those people" would be able to come up and cause crime in our neighborhood. I'm not surprised that the people in the article believe that they have a right to a quiet street.
- awm 10y ago
  I've noticed though that the perspective matters. If somebody start complaining about how I parked in front of their house, a typical response is: "I can't believe how annoyed this guy is getting over me just parking here for 15 minutes." The homeowner however doesn't care that its only 15 minutes of your time, since for him/her its probably all day :-/
  - enjo 10y ago
    But it's not their parking spot to get mad over.
- warcher 10y ago
  Well, you see a little microcosm of how the whole San Francisco housing boondoggle was born. New York's building codes in particular are... stunning in their complexity. Same shit, different city. People get real, real, real hot about their houses. And their parking. And people driving by their house, or walking past their house on the sidewalk. Or what gets built across the street from their house... et cetera.
- arprocter 10y ago
  Irony being that without private transportation a lot of US suburbs would be unlivable in the first place
sib 10y ago
While I hear you, and in many ways agree, I will say that, when I was a homeowner, I had a next-door neighbor who always parked his cars in front of my house instead of his own (he filled his garage with stuff.) Yes, it was a public street and yes, he had the legal right to do so, but it was pretty annoying to have to look at his cars when he had clearly wanted to avoid looking at them himself. After a while, I began parking my cars in front of his house, instead of in my garage, just to make a point...
- zippergz 10y ago
  Yes, this is when I've had a problem with it as well. A neighbor has the option of parking in front of his own house, or mine. He chooses mine, which results in a longer walk for him. Why would he do this? Because he doesn't like having a car parked in front of his house. Implicitly acknowledging that he sees having a car parked in front of the house is a bad thing, and by relieving himself of that bad thing, he's imposing it on me. Yes, in the scheme of things, this is SUPER minor. No, I've never complained to anyone about it. But I do think it's a little bit disingenuous to just say "it's a public street, anyone can park there" without acknowledging that if there were no negative, they'd be parking in front of their own house instead of mine.
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    Not a home-owner here, so I don't understand: why is having a car parked in front of your house a bad thing?
    - massysett 10y ago
      It just irritates people to look out there and see someone else's car. Most folks know anyone can park on the street, but they still get annoyed. What's strange here is the guy is parking in front of someone else's house rather than his own. Never heard of that. I would think most people feel a false sense of possession over the street in front of their house, in part so they can park their own cars there and keep an eye on them.
    - 10y ago
a2tech 10y ago
Its funny because I find myself wondering who's parking in front of my house all the time. I have to take a breath and remind myself each time that its not MY street and that anyone can park there. I'd never actually give anyone any trouble for parking out there though
JustSomeNobody 10y ago
I don't have a problem when people park in front of my house. I do have a problem when they block my driveway, though, as has happened before. Sure the street is public, but I have to be able to get in and out.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  Isn't it illegal to park in front of a driveway in the US? At least, most of the places I've lived it's illegal.
  - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
    Not sure, but it surely should be common sense.
  - osi 10y ago
    Yes. Blocking any off-street access point is illegal in most places. As is parking in a private driveway in a manner than blocks a public sidewalk.
    - peckrob 10y ago
      > As is parking in a private driveway in a manner than blocks a public sidewalk. Laws like this becomes really interesting when you build neighborhoods in certain ways. In my neighborhood, the houses were built very far forward on the lots and thus very close to the sidewalks. Looking out my front window right now, I'd estimate it's less than 10 feet away. This has the effect of making it impossible to park in your driveway without blocking the sidewalk unless you have a very small car - like a Smart car or something. Add to this that the HOA has a rule against long-term overnight parking on the street (which they define as more than five consecutive days). Which means that you either have to put every car in a garage, or break some law or rule. Fortunately, most of these rules are unenforced. To my knowledge the HOA has only ever asked one person to move a vehicle off the road, and that one was parked there for months, obviously disabled and becoming an eyesore. Every now and then when I'm working in the garage I need to leave my truck parked out overnight. I always feel bad blocking the sidewalk, but then I look around and see probably half the neighborhood doing it too.

by warcher 10y ago

enjo 10y ago

It seems to me that you see this problem mostly in suburbs. People didn't buy a house, they bought a lifestyle. A particular lifestyle that has no room for even the slightest inconvenience from others. During my suburban days I was always sort of amazed by the entitlement people had around me. I saw near fistfights over people parking in front of other peoples houses. Or a particularly memorable argument in which people shouted out of their kitchen window at a group of kids who were doing nothing but sitting on a deck talking at 8:00 PM. My HOA sued the town I lived in because someone wanted to build an apartment building about 1/4 mile from the front entrance of the subdivision (don't want "those" people living nearby after all). The HOA also was part of a larger group opposing the extension of a light rail line that would connect our town to the larger metroplex. The same argument was used in that case, "those people" would be able to come up and cause crime in our neighborhood. I'm not surprised that the people in the article believe that they have a right to a quiet street.

awm 10y ago
I've noticed though that the perspective matters. If somebody start complaining about how I parked in front of their house, a typical response is: "I can't believe how annoyed this guy is getting over me just parking here for 15 minutes." The homeowner however doesn't care that its only 15 minutes of your time, since for him/her its probably all day :-/
- enjo 10y ago
  But it's not their parking spot to get mad over.
warcher 10y ago
Well, you see a little microcosm of how the whole San Francisco housing boondoggle was born. New York's building codes in particular are... stunning in their complexity. Same shit, different city. People get real, real, real hot about their houses. And their parking. And people driving by their house, or walking past their house on the sidewalk. Or what gets built across the street from their house... et cetera.
arprocter 10y ago
Irony being that without private transportation a lot of US suburbs would be unlivable in the first place

sib 10y ago

While I hear you, and in many ways agree, I will say that, when I was a homeowner, I had a next-door neighbor who always parked his cars in front of my house instead of his own (he filled his garage with stuff.) Yes, it was a public street and yes, he had the legal right to do so, but it was pretty annoying to have to look at his cars when he had clearly wanted to avoid looking at them himself. After a while, I began parking my cars in front of his house, instead of in my garage, just to make a point...

zippergz 10y ago
Yes, this is when I've had a problem with it as well. A neighbor has the option of parking in front of his own house, or mine. He chooses mine, which results in a longer walk for him. Why would he do this? Because he doesn't like having a car parked in front of his house. Implicitly acknowledging that he sees having a car parked in front of the house is a bad thing, and by relieving himself of that bad thing, he's imposing it on me. Yes, in the scheme of things, this is SUPER minor. No, I've never complained to anyone about it. But I do think it's a little bit disingenuous to just say "it's a public street, anyone can park there" without acknowledging that if there were no negative, they'd be parking in front of their own house instead of mine.
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  Not a home-owner here, so I don't understand: why is having a car parked in front of your house a bad thing?
  - massysett 10y ago
    It just irritates people to look out there and see someone else's car. Most folks know anyone can park on the street, but they still get annoyed. What's strange here is the guy is parking in front of someone else's house rather than his own. Never heard of that. I would think most people feel a false sense of possession over the street in front of their house, in part so they can park their own cars there and keep an eye on them.
  - 10y ago

a2tech 10y ago

Its funny because I find myself wondering who's parking in front of my house all the time. I have to take a breath and remind myself each time that its not MY street and that anyone can park there. I'd never actually give anyone any trouble for parking out there though

JustSomeNobody 10y ago

I don't have a problem when people park in front of my house. I do have a problem when they block my driveway, though, as has happened before. Sure the street is public, but I have to be able to get in and out.

CaptSpify 10y ago
Isn't it illegal to park in front of a driveway in the US? At least, most of the places I've lived it's illegal.
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  Not sure, but it surely should be common sense.
- osi 10y ago
  Yes. Blocking any off-street access point is illegal in most places. As is parking in a private driveway in a manner than blocks a public sidewalk.
  - peckrob 10y ago
    > As is parking in a private driveway in a manner than blocks a public sidewalk. Laws like this becomes really interesting when you build neighborhoods in certain ways. In my neighborhood, the houses were built very far forward on the lots and thus very close to the sidewalks. Looking out my front window right now, I'd estimate it's less than 10 feet away. This has the effect of making it impossible to park in your driveway without blocking the sidewalk unless you have a very small car - like a Smart car or something. Add to this that the HOA has a rule against long-term overnight parking on the street (which they define as more than five consecutive days). Which means that you either have to put every car in a garage, or break some law or rule. Fortunately, most of these rules are unenforced. To my knowledge the HOA has only ever asked one person to move a vehicle off the road, and that one was parked there for months, obviously disabled and becoming an eyesore. Every now and then when I'm working in the garage I need to leave my truck parked out overnight. I always feel bad blocking the sidewalk, but then I look around and see probably half the neighborhood doing it too.