Do you or would you live on an A road?

[Spicylolly]

We've always immediately ruled out any houses on an A road but we've seen one (haven't viewed inside yet, only driven by) that ticks all our boxes...detached, well within our budget and a HUGE garden, about 1.5 acres which we've always wanted and couldn't afford it if the house was anywhere else. It's close to stations and buses for kids for school, also a 40 zone.
It's not set back really far but it's not sitting on it and it's not particularly busy for an A road, I've looked into wall sound proofing, triple glazing etc which we could afford but is it worth the compromise?
Where we live now is quiet but under a flight path and near a train line and we got used to that noise and don't even hear it now, would it be the same with the road do you think?

So scary moving after 14yrs and don't want to make any heart over head any mistakes !

We did it and wouldn't do it again. We now live quite rurally at the top of a private drive, so the complete opposite, when viewing houses if they were close to a road it was an immediate no for us as a reaction to our previous house.

You feel like you never have privacy at rhe front, your windows and curtains etc and back patio all get dirty fast due to pollution, you can't open the windows at the front during summer due to noise.

Some folks can get used to it, and I was also doubtful when we bought ours, but my husband talked me into it, the usual story, a lot more for your money and a house we couldn't afford in a better location.

I would not recommend it and wouldn't do it again. Our friends and family has a very similar reaction, all stated how lovely the house was, but when we left they all articulated they wouldn't have bought it after spending time in it with us.

Something to consider is how A road traffice can grow to be huge. My parents have lived next to the A2 for year - originally it was 1 lane either way. Now it's dual carriageway and traffic pours down day and night. It's difficult to turn into their drive as cars don't expect you to turn left and there is no exit lane (just a turning off to their drive). They also can't use their very large front garden which they put a huge amount of work into - but it's so noisy on the back is usable. Personally I wouldn't move next to an A road.

Hopefully I've attached the photos, always fun to have a nose!😆

Looks lovely and the road doesn't look busy there

I'm afraid that would be a total no from me I'm afraid.

I'd be more concerned about WTF was going on with next door's garden!

I love peace and quiet at night but I'd prefer to be near a busy road if it meant it drowned out noise from neighbours. I live in a semi and the noise through the walls is horrific. That said, I too have cats and that would put me off living near to busy roads. But tbh even in our 30mph village cats get hit on the road.

Haha that garden looks awful doesn't it, it's a new build so I imagine all the work diggers etc churned up the grass.

You sound sensible going to visit a lot. Only you will know what bothers you or doesn’t bother you.

If you type ‘air pollution’ and the postcode into google it will give you a numerical rating. The general area might work if you don’t know the postcode.

I used to live on an A road, You get used to it, the road you are looking to move to doesnt look as busy and is set back off of the road, It also looks really leafy, I would go for it personally. The area looks gorgeous.

Yes, that looks like the sort of A-road that is quiet a lot of the time outside rush hours; doesn't seem to be in the middle of a city.
Those satellite photos can be years old. They may have been in the middle of getting the garden re-landscaped, who knows. Anyway, it wouldn't be your garden.

I wouldn’t ever. Have lived on a noisy busy road & do coughed every day we lived there all night. Don’t underestimate the pollution and the effect that can have on you. You’ll never be able to sleep with your windows open. If it’s a really quiet A road, maybe? But it could get busier in the future.

Good luck with your decision but it would be a no from me.

Never in a million years.

Would depress me beyond words; traffic, noise, pollution, safety of my D.C. etc.

Also I have just realised I know that road as I used to live nearby, I would totally go for it its a lovely area and I wouldnt class it as a busy road.

I live on an A road OP, but in a quietish area. Moved here from rural-ish wales. We love it here. I lived in the suburbs of Liverpool all my life until about 4 years ago and the traffic noise here is better than where I lived before. I was near a school and on a bus route before, and had a lot of people walking past constantly so I felt that was worse. Now we hardly see anyone walk past really and no kids running through my front garden on the way home from school for no reason at all

We love our house now. It’s big and perfect for us. My DH has always lived very rural and is very sensitive to noise especially from traffic (and we live on a route between two (small) hospitals now 🚑🚑) but once we are inside (normal double glazing not triple and sound blocking thick hedges at the front) we can barely hear the noise. And even sitting in the garden you don’t even notice the noise really. I have same opinions as some other posters that there’s much worse noise than traffic. But maybe I’m just antisocial 😂 because it’s people who annoy me more!

Our section of road is only a 30 though lots of people didn’t get that memo though and the only annoying thing is the noise of motorbikes flying past are really loud.

We previously lived in a quiet village in a semi. Didn't hear any noise from neighbours and generally a peaceful place to be.

We moved to our current detached in a busier village/ small town to get closer to child
Care. We, as sensible people do, dis drive bys at different times of day to look out for gangs of youths or cars parked all over the street: you know, the typical deal breakers.

Anyway, we arrived on moving day and stood outside waiting for the removal vans and both turned to each other with pure horror: barking and tapping from literally every corner of the estate. What the fuck have we done, we both said at the same side!

Fast forward 5 years, the dogs don't yap constantly. Normally it's one that sets off several others but honestly we don't 'hear' it any more. The size, location and practicalities far outweigh for us the pesky dogs that occasionally like to have their say!

Good luck! The house looks lovely

Looks brilliant big house on a big plot. Road seems quiet , I would go for it.

We lived in a flat that backed onto a main road with a bus route (although not an A road) for two years. The traffic noise was annoying at first but we soon got used to it. What was more annoying was the problems trying to pull out of our cul de sac onto the road, especially if we were turning right, across traffic.

It would be a deal breaker for us now because we have a cat and I couldn't cope with the fear of a squashed kitty.

I live on top of a hill on a fairly main road, two bus routes are on it. More traffic at rush hour times but otherwise moderate traffic. We have a long drive so are laid back from the road. It's not noisy. It's nice. I used to walk from the station, sometimes late at night if I'd been out after work and was never nervous walking up my road which was so well lit and with a few cars going to and fro.

I grew up living along an A road until a bypass was built. No double glazing. It was fine in terms out day to day living.
Couldn't have a cat though.

The real problem was the number of people killed and injured on the road. A school friend's older sister ended up with life changing injuries as a result of being knocked over on the road. Entirely separately another school friend's younger brother was killed on it.

I now have a cat so wouldn't live on an A road out of choice. There are worse things than living on an A road like having bad neighbours.

All this talk of roads has obviously got to the ads.

I'd be more worried about pulling out onto that than the noise.

If it's quiet enough it's quiet enough. I live on a b road but it's a dual carriageway. It's not quiet by any means but it's only too loud in the house with the windows open or at the back after it rains.

Cats wise, I used to live in a complicated estate with low speed limits where I saw cats run over sometimes, because there were so many mostly quiet roads to cross, and because knobs drive like knobs everywhere. Because this road here is so busy, most cats don't bother crossing it and just stick to their side, so in that way it's maybe safer.

But if I found a house I liked and could afford that was quieter I'd absolutely take it.

With those big gardens, I wouldn't worry about pollution. It's bad on my road but only because it's a city, not because of the particular road. Most of that will blow away, unless it's more built up around you than it looks. It's not like your kids will be playing on the front with that huge back garden is it?

I grew up on an A road that was national speed limit, I have no recollection of the noise, and the traffic included tanks. I lived in a flat on a busy road in London as an adult and nearly went insane from the noise. DM swears blind the 10ft leyandii (sp?) hedge was amazing at blocking the noise (and pollution) in childhood home. Would that be an option? I’d also think about how easy it would be to get out of your drive in rush hour traffic.

I grew up on one. Drove me utterly insane and, back in the days of leaded petrol, really bad for air quality.

We have lived on one for 8 years, and are currently trying to sell in order to move somewhere on a quieter road.

It has been fine, but the driving factors for me are: the number of times my car has been hit/scratched/damaged by passing traffic (five, at least, on one occasion my neighbours' car was shunted underneath mine with the force of the crash), the fact that we can't have cats any more because of the road (we have had one die because of it and have made the decision not to get another until we move), and the general miscellaneous crashes which occur - the most recent being between a motorcyclist and a car and he died.

The noise itself actually hasn't been much of an issue, certainly not enough to make me move. You get used to it very quickly.

My SIL lives on the A38 where it runs parallel with the M5 . If there is a motorway closure anywhere within a 10 mile radius of the M5/M4 interchange at Almondsbury the road outside her house bears the brunt of the traffic that would normally be on the motorway.