To buy a house so close to a motorway

Even with electric cars noise will be the same - maybe worse as they’re heavier and still there’s the particle pollution from braking, tyres so it’s pretty irrelevant.

There are people who go through life utterly oblivious to the havoc they cause. I was once at the bottom of the property chain from hell. Above me were my vendors, their vendor and then the vendors at the top of the chain.

I sold my property, moved in with relatives and put my furniture and white goods into storage. The chain above me took several weeks to form, then there was a problem. The vendors at the top of the chain hadn't got probate before putting their property on the market and it took more than eight months to get it sorted.

My sellers and I were extremely keen to complete as our (second) mortgage offers were about to expire and interest rates had shot up in the meantime. Then, one of the estate agents got a call from the vendors at the top of the chain. They were taking their property off the market as they'd decided to sell it to their son instead! They were so lacking in self-awareness, that one of them said to the estate agent, "you don't sound very happy with our decision!"

The chain collapsed. I eventually bought the same property, but my vendors found a new one and started the process from scratch. We both had to wait several more months and accept new mortgage offers with much higher interest rates (my original offer - 1.62%, second offer - 1.79%, third offer - 3.8%) Aside from the storage costs, the vendors at the top of the chain have cost me extra money every month for at least five years! I don't think they even know, much less care.

Why on earth did you wait until the day of exchange?

Yes, why on Earth did you do that, OP?

There's a special place in hell for people that pull out at the point of exchange.

Poor vendors though 😳

Oh, that was pointless 😂

Aww, my family home was near a motorway. And an airport!
I remember taking wee study breaks and gazing out the window at the motorway traffic, wondering where everyone was driving to.
I know it sounds crazy, but to me it was really comforting!
If you love the house then do go for it.

I wouldn’t do it. I’m sensitive to noise.

We’re in a rental at the moment due to relocation from small town living on outskirts near quiet roads, to an urbanised valley 100 mtrs from a busy dual carriageway. The noise isn’t too bad but the black dust that accumulates is. I’ve been constantly bunged up each morning since we moved in. Haven’t completed on our old house yet so when I go back for weekends etc my nose is instantly clear.

cant wait for sale to complete and find somewhere further up the hill away from the dual carriageway.

We live about a mile from the motorway but couldn't open the windows at night in the heatwave last year as our son is sensitive to noise and there was still too much.

People are assuming a switchover to electric cars because of the ban on new petrol/diesel cars in the UK being only a few years away now. But of course the old cars will still be circulating for some years.

Thank you!

Sorry to derail slightly- this is such a point of interest, my fertility surgeon said recently she's aware that male factor infertility has increased hugely during her career.

@Phgty
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/02/water-system-toxic-contraceptive-pill
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101208125813.htm
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/290367/scho0704bibd-e-e.pdf
Few links for balance

Wow this is fascinating actually.

If it's bugging you, honestly don't. We lived in a house 2 rows of houses and then across the road and then 3 rows of houses from the M3 so not super close but close. It didn't hugely bother me most of the time but some days, depending on weather conditions, wind and traffic it wasn't great to be outside. DH could barely be in the garden, it really irretated him. So people have different sensitivities to it.

My sister was a hydrologist. I recall her saying one of the biggest sources of water pollution is from slurry. We have millions of women on hormonal contraception. We have farm animals being pumped full of hormones and antibiotics...and women and animals are (ultimately) pissing into the water. In some areas the fish have become 'feminised' from the oestrogen type pollution from the slurry.
Add in some crop spraying, and ironically taking up cycling to 'get healthy' it's not hard to see why sperms counts nationally (generation upon generation) are declining.

It’s not just the noise it’s the feel of the really big lorries too. Sometimes it can feel
like the house is shaking.

Not a chance, motorways never stop, at 1 in the morning on a nice spring night when you want the windows open you won't be able too.

Electric cars are not really any quieter on these sorts of roads as the majority of the noise at speed comes from the tyres not the engine.

'Id also inaginevit affects fertility too.'

@JudgeRudy really interestingly we needed investigations for male infertility and went to the leading expert in Harley street. One of the first questions my husband was asked was did he grow up in an area near lots of farm land. I didn't understand why and then when I got home i googled and there is a link between male infertility and living in rural/farming areas. I'm still not 100% sure why but I think it's something to do with pesticides 🤷🏻‍♀️

I agree there seems to be risk everywhere OP so I would worry more about the noise than pollution. I've looked on the pollution maps listed above and near me, whole towns are down as high. It's also worth considering road vibrations as this could impact a house that close.

I wouldn't. I lived on quite a busy minor road (not a fast road but a steady flow of cars during the day) and it got to me during nice weather when all I could hear was cars going past. I couldn't have windows open during hot weather in the evenings because the noise would wake me up. The air always had a traffic smell. We now live in a very quiet cul de sac and the peace it has brought me is priceless. I feel very grateful to wake up and walk out into the garden, hearing bird songs now. Home now feels very much like a retreat to go back to, when I've been out. I'd worry that if I lived in a very noisy place and constantly be wanting to escape the noise, which is not how a home should feel.

I remember someone adding in this situation to pretend the noise was the noise of the sea which made it less of an issue!

I live relatively near a motorway and you can hear it depending on which way the wind is blowing and always imagine it's just the sound of the sea which makes it a comforting noise. However I did reject a house on the same estate as the house literally backed on to the motorway. The estate agent made a big thing about the long garden which it was but didn't make up for the fact that if you jumped over the fence at the bottom of the garden you landed on the banking for the hard shoulder!