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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Tell me about living next to a motorway/very busy road.....

24 replies

RavenVonChaos · 27/08/2012 14:19

Have seen a house that we could never afford if it was down a country lane, but it is next to a major dual carriageway that is very busy. Inside the house you can't hear a thing, but in the garden there will always be a background din of traffic. I am afraid I am falling in love with the house...!

Does anyone live near such a road, and does it drive you mad or have you just got used to it? thanks

OP posts:

fridakahlo · 27/08/2012 14:23

We used to live with the a2 at the bottom.of our garden . It was noisy but never stopped me from falling askeep in the back garden or being outdoors. Before that we lived on a not main road which happened to have a hospital down it. That was worse, as the noise is irregular so there is no pattern for your senses to adapt too.
I think you would be fine .

fridakahlo · 27/08/2012 14:24

Asleep!

albertswearengen · 27/08/2012 14:33

My SIL lives quite close to a motorway although they can't see it and there are houses between them and the carriageway. We couldn't believe they had bought this super expensive house and the noise was so bad.
More worryingly my dh who has v mild asthma was really wheezy when he was there and then fine when he left. He says it was the traffic fumes as it has happened before.

tawse57 · 27/08/2012 14:51

It will make you ill eventually IMPO.

Your subconscious will be constantly alert picking up the background noise and it will become a major stressor affecting your mental and physical health.

Onlyaphase · 27/08/2012 14:57

Having lived on 2 busy roads and also backing onto a railway I have found that you get used to the noise very quickly.

However, visiting friends and family won't get used to it, summer will be a nightmare with a noisy garden and open windows (we used to have the TV up really loudly if the windows were open) and you will have to lower the price to sell, and it will be more difficult to sell.

From experience, you get used to the positives of a new house very quickly, and then spend the next years noticing the downsides more and more.

oreocrumbs · 27/08/2012 16:17

We had one house on a busy road - not a motorway though, and I didn't notice the noise after a while. DB lives in that house now and my word its noisy!!

I don't think I could go back to living with that noise now.

Have you had all of the windows open in the house to see how much you can hear then? When we ever get a warm summer again I can imagine nothing worse than being shut up in a stuffy house because I can't sleep for the noise if the windows are open.

Many people do live with this level of noise though, and so you must weigh up the pros and cons of the house. Is it special enough to put up with the noise?

Would you be prepared to run air con in the summer if you can't open the windows, and an air purification thingy if the fumes are an issue?

Original poster

RavenVonChaos · 27/08/2012 21:25

Thanks for your replies. Been out all day so only just read them.

I sooo wanted you all to say that we would get used to the noise......we did not have the windows open so even though it was dead quiet in the house - all windows were shut

It has the most amazing garden.....with a pond and a weeping willow

OP posts:

UnrequitedSkink · 28/08/2012 00:00

We back onto a fairly busy road - quiet at night but none stop at rush hour - and DS didn't have asthma before we moved in. He does now.

I can't wait to leave tbh.

DizzyBeeisSchoolShoeShopping · 28/08/2012 09:34

Houses not far from here back right on to the motorway, we went to look at one when buying a house. It was terrible, the fumes in the garden were horrendous. I'd never consider it at all.

Vajazzler · 28/08/2012 10:27

We live on a very busy dual carriageway less than 500 yds from the m6. In the garden we cant really hear anything. Its fine. Go for it!

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 28/08/2012 10:32

You do get used to noise, but it will affect resale value etc. IMHO, I'd rather live near a constantly busy road than under a flight path/by a train track etc, because constant noise is easier to block out. You'd just stop noticing it after a while. I now live on a super quiet estate, and if someone walks by the house or coughs at night, you're aware.

FireOverBabylon · 28/08/2012 10:49

you don't want a weeping willow in your garden - their roots will damage your drains as they seek to find water. Maybe another reason to consider this house again?

FeersumEndjinn · 28/08/2012 11:10

I wouldn't.

We lived next to a very busy road for a few years (by junction between the ring-road of a city and the main radial road out towards the airport). I wouldn't do it again, especially not with young children (if you have any).

the exhaust fumes from the traffic condense on the outside and inside of your house as a horrible black dust that gets everywhere. The vendors of this property will be scrubbing furiously before every viewing to reduce the evidence of this, perhaps have a look at the outsides of some of the other houses on the road? (depends how big the garden is)
Of course you can't hear anything if all the windows are tightly shut - but do you want to have to choose, on a hot day, between quiet and stuffy or noisy and cooler? Plus the "fresh air" may not be very fresh if it is full of exhaust fumes.
if you have domestic pets, they are in more danger
You may not be able to dry your washing on a line outside without them smelling trafficky.
If you have a younger child, they may develop health issues with their lungs from all the fumes too. We certainly noticed a difference in all our healths when we moved away from that house.

lambinapram · 28/08/2012 12:40

We found the 'perfect' house quite near a busy motorway. We decided against it for health reasons.
Some of those listed here:
www.sdearthtimes.com/et0603/et0603s21.html

starmaker7 · 28/08/2012 12:49

You do get used to the noise but its worse when windows are open .The pollution is another matter ,I lived on a main road dual carriageway into a large town ,you can actually taste the fumes from the cars and when I walked down one of the side streets and looked back up to the main road you could see the fumes like a mist ,not good at all :0( there were always traffic jams too the only time its was ever quiet was Christmas Eve/day and New years Eve/day -they were the nights i couldnt sleep as there was no rumble of traffic :-D

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 28/08/2012 12:50

We camped quite near the M42 and the noise was utterly relentless, day and night!

We used to live in a second floor flat on a single carriageway 30mph main route into Brighton, not far from a set of lights. Couldn't have the windows open in summer because the noise was so loud, it was not good.

Now we live a good half a mile as the crow flies from a dual carriageway, 40 mph stretch and whilst we can hear it when the wind blows the right way, it's a low hum, not loud at all.

I would not buy a house near a motorway or under a flight path in any circumstances, I hate that kind of noise and you really can't get away from it.

TheSitChewAceChien · 28/08/2012 13:02

It's dusty! I have to dust daily. A layer of it will appear overnight.

I live next to a dual carriageway and shopping centre. I can't get used to the noise-cars, honking horns, sirens, lorries thundering past, and will move as soon as possible.

I completely agree with feersums points.

]

wonderstuff · 28/08/2012 13:07

We lived near a busy road, not a motorway but a dual carriageway - I never got used to it - we didn't have a garden, but it was horrid in the summer when it was hot and you wanted your windows open I found the noise really draining. I have lived near a mainline railway as well and I barely noticed that - got used to the intermittent noise v. quickly. I wouldn't buy it myself.

Original poster

RavenVonChaos · 28/08/2012 13:48

House is empty at the moment so no sign of frantic cleaning. I am sending a friend to look and give me her honest opinion.

OP posts:

VerityClinch · 28/08/2012 19:18

Raven - is it the A21? We are looking at one off the A21 with a pond and weeping willow... Going to auction in 2 weeks?

Original poster

RavenVonChaos · 29/08/2012 12:15

VERITY - no it isn't - how far is if from the A21 and are you worried about the same issues as me?

OP posts:

guineapiglet · 29/08/2012 12:26

I hate to do this to you as it sounds as if your heart is set Raven, but we have just moved from a pretty quiet village, to a rented house right next to a huge busy road, I guess a lot depends on what you are used to, but we find it a horrible shock, the noise is constant, - traffic, sirens etc, which, rather worryingly, kind of blur into the background, ie so you are not hearing it, but it is still there if you see what I mean. To be honest, it is the lovely smell of diesel fumes which I think is really horrible - we have an asthmatic child who has coughed since we moved in. We cant sit in the garden for long periods of time as it is just too noisy and not very relaxing - personally I would think very hard before choosing a house with ambient noise, it is one of those things that you dont really consider, but has an ongoing effect. Good luck with your decision.

MotionOfTheOcean · 29/08/2012 15:45

I live about 200m from a busy dual carriage way,however there is a 12ft fence and a row of trees on our boundary,so this filters out a fair bit of traffic noise.I only ever shut my windows in winter,dont think the top windows have been shut since april and I always dry washing outside.On the other three sides are fields and total countryside.I prefer living here with the hum of traffic,only really notice an emergency vehicle or a motorbike travelling well over the speed limit than on the estate we lived previously with all the noises that bought.

VerityClinch · 29/08/2012 15:57

Went to see the house today and the noise was a total deal breaker. Was 10am, so not peak time, but the traffic was relentless and there was no escaping it, could even hear it inside the house.

We won't be making an offer.

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