So I've just started arranging some viewings on houses in the village we're currently renting in, as I'm now a 'proceedable buyer' 
Heart set at the moment on staying in the village, which is a large-ish village in a fairly rural location but with an A-road running along one side. The road is not especially busy outside of rush hour although it is used by commuters getting to the motorway and it is fast - a 60mph limit. Village has a mix of old listed buildings and 2 or 3 modern developments, most of which are on the A-road side of the village. Buying for myself, my two tween daughters and our two cats, who are indoor/outdoor but spend a lot of time outdoors. We currently rent on the main road in the village and our garden backs onto other gardens with access to fields nearby, so the cats love it.
With my budget, I am pretty much limited to the newer developments. Prices are dropping so it's possible if I waited we could stretch to it but at the moment those cottages are sitting on for 6-9 months with no offers accepted as the owners won't budge on price.
I am viewing two next week, both of which are near the A-road. With one the garden backs almost directly on to the road, i.e. the road is a couple of metres the other side of the garden wall. I am wary of this one, more for the cats than anything else but I want to take a look to rule it out and also because it has been beautifully remodelled with a great living space. I'd want to change the garden though. The other backs onto other gardens so isn't right by the road. At the moment I lean towards the second one, which also wouldn't really need anything doing to it, except I would consider sacrificing an ensuite to give my second daughter a bigger bedroom.
Does anyone live in a similar kind of location and what pitfalls should I be looking out for?