Naked in the back yard
Return to DiscussionsI have been naked in my back yard but only at night but would like to during the day. I have a 6 foot privacy fence butthe houses around me are raised ranch style. They can see right into the yard so I am affraid they would call the police. Since this is my own back yard could I get into a legal issue if the police are called?
Yes ... you could. It's best to research local ordinances and see what local laws and law enforcement of those laws deems "indecent exposure." I think one of the reasons we've either not had the cops called on us is because we don't expose ourselves in a "lewd" manner, as per the ordinance. We've also taken numerous, expensive steps to minimize the possibility of our next door neighbors being able to see us nude.
You could always try and build or shield off an additional area of your yard where you can sunbath and not be seen but I completely understand your wanting to use your entire backyard the way you'd like. You have the right to privacy in your own backyard but regrettably ... the law and city ordinances aren't always on your side.
When we needed privacy and had not replaced the tree that provided us with that privacy, we used umbrellas. We have a 2 story home next door. In the beginning, when the current owners moved it, they were not aware that they lived next to nudists. They soon found out when they kept the shutters open on the one window that had a view of our backyard. For a while, they closed those shutters but then reopened them. When that happened ... we deployed umbrellas to shield our sunning area and after a few months, they just got used to seeing us naked back there. It's beena fewyears now that they've lived there and they've decided to just keep those shutters on that window, closed. We don't complain about their dog barking and barking and barking ... they don't complain about our nudity. Seems like a fair trade! hahaha
Ok. I have been looking for something that would work in my backyard hope to find it this winter to set up in the spring. It's a shame that I can't be naked in my own yard with out someone having an issue with it but it is what it is.
We've been told by every neighbor we've had that, we are the best neighbors they have ever had and maybe, just maybe ... that's why they tolerate our lifestyle. We've owned 3 homes thus far and had neighbors on both sides for the first two but only have one next door neighbor, currently. But ... both neighbors directly across the street have talked with us on the street and have also said the same things to us and they have both seen us naked in the back and side yards.
One of the things, I think, that seems to help is that we have a sunning area where we are shielded completely and while sunning ... they can't see us. The times they do see us, we are walking around, doing some yard work, doing a project and we're not subjecting them to an "in your face" type of nudity. We just go about our business as though we were clothed and I think that's why we haven't been bothered. I once told a neighbor that I was thinking about putting a upper deck off the second story of our previous home and decided not to because "it would give me full view of their backyard and they were entitled to their privacy ... so I decided not to." They were very appreciative of that but ... it still didn't get through "her" thick skull that I wanted that same privacy in our backyard. Eventually the block wall went up and that took care of it, most of the time.
Our current next door neighbors are friendly but not overly friendly. They wave, say "hello" but that's about it. I think they just want to be left alone and figure we want the same thing. They've been quite tolerant and we are quite appreciative and if that's the way we live for the rest of the time we live here ... that's fine by us.
I thought about going naked while mowing the lawn in the back yard and see what happens but as of right now I put on a long shirt and that works for me but it's not the same. I would just hate to have the cops called on me and end up in jail that would not be good. Not really sure how to find out about the law in our town about nudity and your own yard. I could e-mail city hall and see if they could tell me but I assume it will be something I don't want to hear. In this case asking for forgiveness instead of permission might not work either if the cops come. I thought about building a "wall" out of rail road ties that we can get for free and that would really help out I think but again I shouldn't have too.