Would you live half a mile from a motorway?

[alanpartridgefromtheoasthouse]

We've seen a house that we love the look of. It's detached, four bedrooms, a lovely old character property in a nice little village.

The only thing is that it's 0.4 miles as the crow flies from the motorway. Would we be able to hear the noise from the garden do you think? Would there be higher pollution etc?

It's 60 miles from us (we're looking to relocate). Can't decide whether to traipse down and have a look at it or whether the motorway proximity is a deal-breaker.

You may as well look but yes you will hear it, 0.4m isn't far.

I live about a mile from a motorway (and it’s in a steep cutting) and can hear it depending on which way the wind is blowing. It’s not really intrusive though, and (thinking about when I’ve walked closer to it) it’s not bad closer to it. The cutting definitely helps though.

We used to live that close to a duel carriage way so not quite a motorway but not far off and you could only really hear it in summer at night with the window open. The sound of motorbikes heading to the ferry to go to the Isle of Man TT is the sound of the beginning of summer for me and I’m sad I won’t get to hear it again!

Where is it? It’s not impossible you’ll find a mumsnetter who knows the area! (

You can only tell the noise by going there. We have friends in similar circumstances - lovely house in village that's right next to the motorway.

You can barely hear it outdoors and not at all indoors. But that's a function of the local topography (it's down a cutting as it passes the village, lots of trees and enough houses to somehow absorb all the noise) and you can only tell what that!ll be like at thus gphouse by going there.

I doubt pollution will be much of an issue at that distance - probably cleaner than urban living

I live closer than that... you’re vaguely aware of it outside, but you can’t hear it inside

What's between the house and the motorway? The noise will be worse if it's fields. Our house had fields at the back and a similar distance to a motorway (at ground level, not in a cutting and no sound barriers). It made a huge difference when the field was built on as now those houses are a noise barrier!

The other thing to factor is that even if you visit, these are not normal times so you won't get a true picture.

Depends what’s between you and the motorway. If there are plenty of houses and trees it might dull the noise. It also depends on how used to road noise you are. I live pretty rurally. There is a motorway ten miles away with a big hill and moors in between us. Sometimes we can hear the motorway faintly on a still frosty night!

PS - as PP said above, you could never hear it in the house esp with double glazing, but the back garden was noisy (much worse than the front garden where it wasn't very noticeable). You do get used to it though because it just becomes background white noise.

I live that close to the M25. The way the land is we are blocked by a steep bank so that may make the difference, but can’t hear it at all. Don’t notice particularly any extra pollution, although we are in London, so obviously may just be used to the smog! It’s actually great in terms of being very handy.

I've just checked and I grew up living about .6 miles (as the crow flies) from the m62. I remember on vet still days you could sometimes hear the dull roar of the motorway, most of the time you couldn't.

Probably not but check out the prevailing wind direction.

We can hear the whoosh of traffic from a busy dual carriageway, it isn’t a problem at all . A noisy car or motorbike on our road or one of the side roads is much more noticeable.

We do, not technically a motorway but close enough & very noisy. It does depend on weather but I hear it all the time. I never thought I'd get used to it but it's ok, been better this last year.

I live closer than that to a motorway. There’s only open space between the house and m’way. We replaced the windows with double glazing and you can’t hear it in the house at all. In the garden it’s mostly quite quiet. You can hear it at rush hour and depending on what way the wind is blowing but it’s not offensive. Preferable to our previous rowdy neighbours. It’s quite a steady hum so you don’t really notice it.

My parents used to live closer to the A1. You could hear it outside in the garden of you were on the side nearest the road. They had a sheltered bit the other side of the house where it was much quieter. To be honest, after a while you just didn't notice it, and never heard it inside.

I grew up closer than that to a motorway and a main dual carriageway. The noise was ever-present, the sirens also frequent. But you got used to it after a while.
What I never got used to was the air pollution. My dad ended up with COPD and my asthma was worse when I lived there.
I live rurally now (and my parents followed!) and we can all miraculously breathe!

Depends on the landscape possibly? I personally wouldn’t live that close but I’m used to country air

I live about half a mile from the M1. Rural so open land between us and it.

Never notice it. Don’t hear it at all. Bloody handy though when you want to get anywhere.

It depends massively on the landscape and prevailing wind direction.

I think it must depend on the topography, I live 0.3 miles from motorway was crow flies and have never noticed any noise from it, however I went to view a house about the same distance away over the other side of the same motorway and was shocked how much I could hear it when I was in the garden.. although thinking about it that house was also probably similar distance to a busy duel carriage way as well as the motorway.

For me, I can't hear it where I am and it's super convenient for traveling anywhere.

I used to live a bit further away than that, in my last house. Probably just less than a mile away, and never heard the motorway.
I now live less than half a mile away and it's really noisy in the garden and I can hear it in the house. I've got used to it after a year, but we're renting so I'd never buy a house this noisy. Also the wind must've changed the other night, as it was so so loud all night, I thought it was a police helicopter circling all night, but it was just the motorway, as was the same in the morning. It kept me awake all night.
I think it's worth going to see though, as you never know.

Used to live a lot closer to one. You really hear it at first, then you don’t, finally you only notice it when it’s not running due to an accident.

I used to live very close to the M4 - more like 0.3 miles - and still am within half a mile now. The traffic mostly sounds like wind, or the white noise sound of the ocean. It really isn't that intrusive and because of where we are we're along the motorway we almost never hear sirens or anything.

The bigger problem for noise is idiots on incredibly noisy quad bikes and motorcycles and souped up cars with no muffler who gun it down the small lane we live on because they think it's rural, no one will care if they make a colossal noise. Fuckers. It's got worse in lockdown too, I think because people have nothing else to do and it's so antisocial.