Perfect House but on busy road

[Houseyhousey]

We have been trying to downsize financially for the past year & found 2 houses we like but can't agree or decide! Both similar price and fit the minimum requirements brief (ie beds/bath, parking) but very different.

House 1:
Detached 10 year old small estate
Modern so assume lower running costs
Lovely village 2 mins walk
No character
Easy bus route to DC school
estate - not sure how I feel about this ! Noisy neighbours/kids, lack of privacy vs lovely community
Small slightly overlooked but functional garden
House 2:
Character semi (old workers cottage I assume) - v. pretty but likely higher maintenance costs.
beautiful garden overlooking fields to rear
On a main road (think A road but in the country)
Has a workshop where DH could run his business so potential cost and time saving for him
Further from main town for schools/shops

Any thoughts?

@tentative3 we agreed a sale a few weeks before lockdown hence the more urgent need to find somewhere . We realise things can and might still change but our agent rang us on Thursday to confirm we still wanted to go ahead as our buyer is still keen (and in rental that comes to an end in August).

We need to revisit both but I do see what you're saying about finding something more standard. I'd be quite happy with a decent size semi but around us that means no parking which is one thing we don't want to compromise on (for our work and personal reasons)

It depends on your circumstances. Not on a busy road with children under say 8. And does traffic noise annoy you. Lorries going past big red flag. No. I'd wait and see if anything else comes on the market.

Hi OP

I don’t think you should buy the first one; your heart doesn’t sound in it at all.

I live on a B road and my last house was on an A road. The last one was grim; an absolutely constant stream of noisy traffic. This one is really completely fine, the road isn’t noisy, traffic is reasonably staggered and it’s just nice. You can sit in the front garden pleasantly and at the back you cannot hear a thing. I also live in London, so nothing quiet or country about it. Is there pavement running alongside the road on the side your house would be on? Walk up and down it a few times, at a couple of different times a day, and see how it feels. On our last street walking along the pavement felt like being on the hard shoulder, here it feels very pleasant! I would never live on a busy main road again but not all main roads are busy.

Good luck!

look on local facebook & also there is a website which is based on postal code which talks about areas (crime & social & educational make up & school facilities) look up complaints about the bus routes & whether there is any plans for cut backs -is there a school bus route? (& traveline for bus timetables) if you go on streetview for the house on right move you can "travel" along route which of course would be pre corona so would be filmed during week in daytime which might help inform or give you basis of travel locally

Don’t buy the house on the main road. We did it. Because it was also more house than we could get elsewhere. Also on an a road.

You can’t open your windows in the summer due to traffic noise. Your patio or decking gets absolutely filthy with black soot from the engines. You feel publicly visible doing simple things like getting your shopping in and out. Emergency vehicles blue lighting will disrupt you at all hours.the list goes on and on.

Honestly when we moved the first thing both of said was never again. It wasn’t worth it.

Don’t do it. If you don’t love house one. Find another. Because house two is priced because of its down sides. And trust me, those down sides seem fine at first, but they soon become major and constant irritations.

Hmmm so talking to a friend who normally passes it to and from work each day she said no way - busy busy road, HGVs etc plus it's the main route to the coast so rammed in summer. Added to which we can't see any sort of footpath to and from the bus stop so house 2 has been discounted. We will look again at house 1 when we can and see how we feel about it then.

Thanks all for the advice.

In laws used to live on a main road, the house was beautiful but by the time they left they despised it and were at their wits end. HGVs are VERY noisy, regular motorbikes too and at unsociable hours

They've now moved into a quiet village and even then they have a private track to their house, it is completely silent at night and it is bliss. I think this will have more of an impact on your quality of life than you realise

That was us. The house was so much more than we could afford elsewhere. I wasn’t sure but my husband convinced me. By the time we left we despised it and were relieved.

We now live quite rurally up a private drive. It’s as opposite as you can get. When we bought this place we went to see one house, we pulled up, my husband said “look where it is” in dismay ,,it was a no before we even went in but we were polite. We hadn’t realised for some reason.

It gets to you, it really does. You don’t think it will but the soot from the engines, the noise, the not being able to open your windows. It gets to you.

If I could avoid it I’d never live near a main road again. You really do pay for the extra house you’re getting.

Another one here who has experience of living on a busy road. Never again. Even when you think it would be quiet - like 4am in the morning - the noise of lorries or emergency vehicles will be heard! And just gets more and more annoying.

Now we live in an old slightly decrepit house with a crap parking situation but the peace and quiet is total bliss.

I know you have now discounted house 2 but my friend's house is on a dual carriageway. You can fit 2 cars on her drive and she has a wall at the front so the drive and in fact all the drives on there have stone pillars to squeeze between.

You either have to reverse onto or reverse off their drive onto a fucking 40mph dual carriageway. It really put me off visiting her at her house and I know several other people felt the same way. I consider myself a confident driver.

Just something to think about if another house comes up.

House 2 sounds better from your description, IMO.

Oh I see you've discounted it now. Whoops!