AITA neighbor?
My wife and I have lived on the same street, at the back of a cul-de-sac, for 20 years. We raised 3 kids there, and our youngest is still at home. We understand kids playing outside because ours did too.
About 4 years ago, new neighbors moved in next door with 3 boys ranging from middle school to high school age. We share a property boundary and there are 2–3 public street parking spots between our houses.
Shortly after moving in, they put up a portable basketball hoop facing the street and began treating that area like a permanent basketball court. Their kids have knocked on our door asking us to move cars so they can play, but then sometimes their own parents park there afterward. It created tension because these are shared public parking spaces.
The bigger issue is the amount of sports activity happening directly in the street and around neighboring properties. The kids regularly play basketball, soccer, football, whiffle ball, kickball, etc. with real/hard balls. Over the years, balls have hit our cars, house, and mailbox, and landscaping/flowers have been trampled. This hasn’t only affected us either; other neighbors have had similar issues.
Recently, one of the kids ran directly through freshly planted flowers in our yard and I confronted the father. I told him I felt there was a lack of respect for our property and that I should be able to have nice landscaping and park my cars without constantly worrying about damage. His response was basically that “they’re kids” and that he would pay for anything that gets broken.
For context, we live about 200 feet from a township park that we can literally see from our front yard. It has basketball courts, playgrounds, and several acres of open green space specifically for sports and playing.
I’m not against kids playing outside. I actually think that’s a good thing. But I also feel like there should be some boundaries and respect for neighboring property, especially when there’s a large park right nearby.
So I’m asking honestly: are my wife and I being unreasonable here, or are the neighbors minimizing behavior that has gone beyond normal “kids being kids”?