Is it Trashy to Keep Cars on Driveway vs In The Garage? (truck, buy)

[iamweasel]

One thing that bugged me when we lived in NC previously is the amount of people that leave cars on their driveway on a permanent basis. (Because their garage is filled with other junk.) Now we're moving back to NC and seeing it again.

To me, this is very trashy and I don't like it. I prefer to have a "clean" neighborhood.

Funny thing is I see this in all kinds of neighborhoods. We looked at a place with $300-$500K houses and I was concerned about a house we liked because the other 4 houses on the cul-de-sac had 1-3 cars parked in the driveway at 10pm at night. (All of them...so about 8 cars outside in total.)

Am I just being overly anal-retentive on this one? I recognize most houses in NC don't have basements but buy a shed or put your crap in the attic - not the garage. My wife thinks I should not rule out buying this house we like because the neighbors seem to like keeping cars outside.

Thoughts?

[MikeJaquish]

So-o-o-o, I'm trash because my car and truck don't fit into the 2 car garage with the wife's car?
I'm not buying it for a split-second.


Like you, I also married an intelligent woman.
Trust her to compensate for your weaknesses.

[RaleighRob]

Well I suppose if you have a garage, and you're too lazy to put your junk in the attic and end up filling up the garage so that you can't put your car into it...then yes that's tacky.

But about 2/3 of the people I know here don't even have garages (including myself)...so there's little other choice. (Some don't even have a driveway and park on the street...but that's only in very urban blocks.)

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

One thing that bugged me when we lived in NC previously is the amount of people that leave cars on their driveway on a permanent basis. (Because their garage is filled with other junk.) Now we're moving back to NC and seeing it again.

To me, this is very trashy and I don't like it. I prefer to have a "clean" neighborhood.

Funny thing is I see this in all kinds of neighborhoods. We looked at a place with $300-$500K houses and I was concerned about a house we liked because the other 4 houses on the cul-de-sac had 1-3 cars parked in the driveway at 10pm at night. (All of them...so about 8 cars outside in total.)

Am I just being overly anal-retentive on this one? I recognize most houses in NC don't have basements but buy a shed or put your crap in the attic - not the garage. My wife thinks I should not rule out buying this house we like because the neighbors seem to like keeping cars outside.

Thoughts?

Are we speaking of trashy junk cars or just cars?

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by Desdemona123

Are we speaking of trashy junk cars or just cars?

Generally the cars in this neighborhood are fine and in good shape. I would REALLY hate it if the cars were crappy with missing hubcaps, etc. (Which I have seen in some other lower priced areas.)

[NCSUAlum2006]

I think drawing the conclusion that "Cars in driveway = junky tenants" is a bit much.

If they have cars all strung out in the streets, yeah, that's different, but it's THEIR driveway to park in it what they want. If they start throwing trash in their own yard and the like, then yeah, they're junky. Otherwise, I think you're expecting the world to revolve around you a little too much.

[tigerlily]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

One thing that bugged me when we lived in NC previously is the amount of people that leave cars on their driveway on a permanent basis. (Because their garage is filled with other junk.) Now we're moving back to NC and seeing it again.

To me, this is very trashy and I don't like it. I prefer to have a "clean" neighborhood.

Funny thing is I see this in all kinds of neighborhoods. We looked at a place with $300-$500K houses and I was concerned about a house we liked because the other 4 houses on the cul-de-sac had 1-3 cars parked in the driveway at 10pm at night. (All of them...so about 8 cars outside in total.)

Am I just being overly anal-retentive on this one? I recognize most houses in NC don't have basements but buy a shed or put your crap in the attic - not the garage. My wife thinks I should not rule out buying this house we like because the neighbors seem to like keeping cars outside.

Thoughts?

I agree, but unless you are in a HOA neighborhood what recourse do you have? Some cities have laws stating that a car can't be parked overnight for a certain number of days without being moved. We live on a cul de sac and are lucky everyone parks in garages. However, no one has teenagers and this may be the problem with multiple cars in driveways. One of the advantages of the newer "urban style" neighborhoods is that they have the garages in the back so cars and trash cans not on the street. Common practice in Dallas even in older neighborhoods.

An article I read advised when you're selling you should have your garage empty and park your cars away from the house. I find it amusing the giant storage facilities that are cropping up and people are paying to store due to no room left at home. Also realize it maybe necessary to use when transitioning due to a move.

[OmegaBaby]

Do I think having cars in your driveway instead of the garage is trashy? Yes.

Are my cars in my driveway instead of my garage? Yes.

I admit it. I'm lazy. I still haven't cleaned up my garage from the last garage sale.

[NewUser]

I don't consider parking cars in the driveway to be "tacky", but I do get miffed when everyone parks in the street. On narrower streets you have to stop and wait while other cars pass, etc.

Some people don't have much of a choice once their kids start to drive and get cars.

I also used to live in Dallas, and we had our driveways and garages in the back of the house. Still this did not prevent households with more than 2 cars from parking a car or two in the street at the front of the house. Also, since it was the teenagers that had the cheap cars, it made the neighborhood look worse than it actually was.

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

Generally the cars in this neighborhood are fine and in good shape. I would REALLY hate it if the cars were crappy with missing hubcaps, etc. (Which I have seen in some other lower priced areas.)

I think you need to find a home with a very restrictive and heavily enforced HOA or listen to your wife.

Really, cars in a drive way....well....it's pretty normal. (I tend to park there unless it's bad weather and do have a clean garage, thank you).