Just Because The Driveway Is Bigger Doesn’t Mean It’s All Mine

Six years ago we moved into a house where our driveway is literally attached to the neighbor’s driveway. Thankfully I have the larger half.  Over the years there have been issues that have come up regarding double driveway etiquette and I want to share my wealth of knowledge with you.

• Do be mindful of the line separating the driveways. The line probably isn’t going to be in the middle and someone is going to have the bigger driveway.
• Do make sure that any visitors coming to your house realize that you don’t in fact have an extra wide driveway and to park on the appropriate side, not directly in the middle.
• If you should happen to be parked so that the other party can’t get out, don’t tell them things like “Go ahead and hit my car, I don’t like it anyway.” True story. Also, don’t take your sweet time getting the keys to move your car. If they didn’t need to get out of the driveway quickly, they probably wouldn’t have asked.
• Do inform your neighbor if you are having a party or get together that will have your driveway jam-packed.  Chances are someone is going to park on the wrong side or over the line and you don’t want to come off as the douchey neighbor who doesn’t care.
• If you live in an area that gets snow, don’t clear your driveway by throwing the snow into your neighbor’s driveway. It’s just not classy. Also, check with your neighbor before you clear their snow off of their driveway. I happen to love snowblowing both of the driveways, but not every neighbor has accepted my gift of a clean driveway in a positive way. One person even asked me why I was trying to shake them down for money when they clearly didn’t ask me to clear their drive.
• While my neighbor and I get along wonderfully and drive around each other’s cars so we don’t have to shift vehicles, do make sure that this is okay with your neighbor. If not, you may end up with a 4′ chain link fence down the middle of the driveway. Thankfully I don’t live across the street.
• If you have kids, do check with your neighbor before you decide to let them loose with sidewalk chalk.  One neighbor we had really had an issue with sidewalk chalk, which I learned about when she was shrieking at my kids to stop vandalizing her property.
• Most importantly, do get to know your neighbor. While you don’t have to be BFFs, it helps to keep the lines of communication open if an issue does arise later on.