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.

We live about 0.25 miles from an M5 junction, don't hear it at all. It's at the end of my parents garden down a cut - very rarely hear it at all. Massively convenient when we want to go somewhere though!

I used to live .3 of a mile from the M6. You could hear it outside, but just as a sort of background droning noise - we used to think about adding a water feature to mask it but never actually bothered.

depends on what's in between
I live three quarters of a mile from a motorway. However I'm in a city, and there's plenty of housing/parkland/other stuff in between, which mops up the noise. the motorway is in a valley as well.

I have my head in the sand about air pollution though, and no doubt the queuing traffic on the A road near me that leads to the motorway is just as bad in that regard.

There's no way I'd live that close to a motorway, you will hear it and you will get pollution. It's a 5 minute walk so that's no distance at all.

@diggetydoolittle

There's no way I'd live that close to a motorway, you will hear it and you will get pollution. It's a 5 minute walk so that's no distance at all.

You're wrong.

I live live a 5min walk from A1M... Don't hear it. Just like I don't hear the planes etc.

I live about 0.15miles from the M5 at a point where it's up on a bridge, walk under it most days, and honestly I just don't really notice it. Can't hear it indoors, haven't thought to try and listen for it outdoors but it's certainly not intrusive. There are a few houses between us and the motorway which may absorb some sound.

I lived 0.3 miles away from a really busy A Road. We had dodgy windows but could barely hear it due to the way the houses were built around it. I imagine with better windows I wouldn’t have heard anything.

You're wrong. I live live a 5min walk from A1M... Don't hear it. Just like I don't hear the planes etc.

So you don't hear it - good for you! That doesn't mean that I wouldn't and other's wouldn't. I used to live not far from a busy road for several years and I always heard it.

It most likely is the reason why the house is reasonably priced. My MIL lives close to a dual carriageway and I can hear it in the garden, and in the house with the windows open. I think you'd get used to the noise fairly quickly (I've lived alongside a railway line before and hardly noticed it. But, the pollution aspect may be more of a concern.

I lived in a village not far from the m25 it was a constant background hum and louder depending on the wind. You get used to it but you do hear it.

Oh and visit when the motorway is likely to busy not on a Sunday afternoon!

i live about that distance from the motorway. i don't hear it, but it affects air quality.

There are houses in between, so maybe that lessens the noise.

I used to live in a house with a by-pass at the end of the garden and it was noisy.

I would hate it and ruled out properties that were closer than a couple of miles. But then I grew up somewhere that was a 45 minute drive from a motorway so I imagine it depends what you are used to.

I live 0.8 Miles from a motorway and can't hear it at all unless it's very quiet around?think middle of the night) and windows open.
Interestingly we lived the same distance but in opposite direction for a short period of time and we could hear the motorway much more. It all depends on wind and what's in between.
In any event, it's not nearly as bad as living on a busy road and would really not put me.off. Like someone said, it's so handy to get to places!

I think I live about the same distance from the A1 - I can only hear it when the wind is blowing in the right direction or the weather is very cold. So more often than not I can't hear it

Dps old house was less than a mile from the motorway in a quiet village. We couldn't hear the traffic at all, even outside. Possibly because it was built below the village and there was an industrial estate with some large buildings just before you came to it.
His house sold for over the asking price. He had several offers because of the quaint village location and great transport links.

I think it depends on the individual house and location. My neighbours used to live in a village in a valley next to the M6 and the pollution apparently collects in the valley. Both of them have COPD and blame it on the pollution.

Whereas my DM and D live not far from the A3 and whilst you can hear the distant traffic faintly when out in the garden, all the woodland around them seems to block out pollution and most of the noise.

@mrwalkensir

as more and more cars are electric over the next ten years, you may be picking up a bargain now...

it is really the tyres what makes half of the noise if not more.

I live about that distance from a motorway. I can't hear it but we live on a major A road which drowns out everything else!

I live that close to the A1. Across a field, not in a cutting or anything.

You don't notice it at all inside.

When you step outside you hear it, but then your brain tunes the hum out as uninteresting and you don't hear it anymore.

Sound-wise the occasional vehicles on the road outside the house are more intrusive.

Its east of us so hear it less when prevailing westerly wind.

Like PP really like its so convenient to get anywhere. I used to live rurally 10 miles from nearest A-road and that was a drag. And like last week in the snow no problem getting anywhere.

Just checked and I live 0.5 miles away from the motorway, but there are whole streets of houses between us and it. You might hear a vague background noise sat in the garden, with the wind blowing in the right direction, but it's barely noticeable.

My parents live in a village about 3 miles as the crow flies from the motorway and you're just as likely to hear it there.

I think visiting might be the only way to know for sure, if you're really worried about the noise.

The other thing to consider would be if you're on a main road does that mean you'll get a lot of motorway traffic, lorries etc. as the noise/pollution would be much more apparent.

My parents live half a mile from a motorway, you can hear a quiet hum of the cars with the windows open but generally it depends on the wind. Its really quiet though and you soon get used to it, I forgot that the noise was even there and I grew to find it strangely comforting

When I say you can hear a quiet hum, its not noticeable in the day when your getting on with your day, its at night if your bedroom faces the motorway and you have the window open that you can hear a distant hum