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Saturday, February 28th, 2009 12:00 pmI have a "private" street light right outside my fence, pointing in over my front yard. It illuminates the whole front yard and driveway, as well as part of the street, at night. I was thinking, it might be nice to just use my front porch light and the lights on the garage for illumination. That way, I could turn them off whenever I want to look up at the stars, or when I want to sit outside at night without being exposed by the light. That way, I could leave the window and curtain in the bedroom open in the summer, to let more air in, without the bright light shining in too.
But it makes me uncomfortable, thinking of the front yard being as dark as the back yard is, at night. The garage lights would not be nearly as illuminating as the street light. It would bother me, looking out the window, and not being able to see if someone was out there or not. Someone outside would be more likely to see me looking out, than me to see them.
It all comes down to crime and security. It sucks that I feel I have to keep the light on, to deter crime. It sucks that I can't just leave it dark, and not worry about people who might try to use the darkness to their own advantage and my detriment.
From something the power company told me, it seems that the private street light was put up at the owners request in early 2007 - which would have been in the few months before I bought the house. I wonder, did some crime happen back then, to the previous owners, which eventually made them decide to move out? Maybe that was the reason they sold it only 6 months after having bought it?
But it makes me uncomfortable, thinking of the front yard being as dark as the back yard is, at night. The garage lights would not be nearly as illuminating as the street light. It would bother me, looking out the window, and not being able to see if someone was out there or not. Someone outside would be more likely to see me looking out, than me to see them.
It all comes down to crime and security. It sucks that I feel I have to keep the light on, to deter crime. It sucks that I can't just leave it dark, and not worry about people who might try to use the darkness to their own advantage and my detriment.
From something the power company told me, it seems that the private street light was put up at the owners request in early 2007 - which would have been in the few months before I bought the house. I wonder, did some crime happen back then, to the previous owners, which eventually made them decide to move out? Maybe that was the reason they sold it only 6 months after having bought it?