Cul de sac living

[CyberdyneSystems]

We would like to live in a cul de sac in the near future as we live just off a fairly busy 30mph road. The thought of no constant passing traffic and noise is very appealing

To those of you that live in a cul de sac, is there any negatives?

We would want a driveway, I know parking can be hard in some without

Doesn't have to be a cul de sac. I live in a small road of about 35 houses. It forms a U with a road at the back and another small road. Off a main road.

None of them are big roads so you get very little traffic - just people that live up the roads or visiting as there is no other reason to go up them.

We're at the end of a cul de sac and I absolutely love it. No traffic at the front or back so it's very quiet despite being in a busy part of south London. We have a massive back garden and everyone shares communal bins round the corner so I don't have to worry about bin etiquette etc. It's great for taking my toddler out on her scooter as well. Big thumbs up from me!

I suppose it will hugely depend on the area/demographics. We’re towards the end of one and love it. Mostly bungalows and a few family homes, all detached, huge driveways and wide road. Very quiet in terms of traffic, but the right amount of neighbourly for us. It’s true everyone knows your comings and goings, but it also feels very safe and you know your neighbours keep an eye if you go on holiday etc.

I live on one. About 15 houses/ bungalows all detached . Our bit is a sort of offshoot with 4 houses so no-one comes in this part other than visit the actual houses . We say hi to the neighbours but no-one is super chatty.

I love our cul-de-sac. We live next to the footpath that goes between the houses on the corner through to the playing field and the pub, so people are strolling past all day with dogs and kids. Because of the field the kids don't tend to play in the close.

The driveways can be a bit cramped and you get the occasional vehicle parked out on a spare corner, but there's only about 4 spots that are usable. The neighbours pretty much know everything about your movements, they've all got cameras!

But I have personally never found it claustrophobic. The nosiness is friendly and well-meaning, as long as you're not behaving like a dick - human beings are just curious. It's oddly reassuring, being part of a little community looking out for each other. We roll our eyes good naturedly when someone comments on our movements but somehow I don't really mind - I grew up on a main road and my stepfather was so fanatical about privacy that he'd have a fit if he thought anyone knew what time he'd driven down into town, or which day he cut the grass. We weren't allowed to speak to anyone. So, I kind of like being involved and not having to pre-think and censor what I say.

There are 2 plumbers and kitchen fitters in the close - we had a boiler leak repaired in 10 minutes for free - I regularly let one of the neighbours dogs out for a pee and take her round the block when she has a long shift, and my husband helps out an older couple with their garden. Our oldest resident (85 and semi-infirm) has carers, but a few of the neighbours also check on him regularly.

We don't have a WhatsApp group or street events and collections though, fuck that shit. That would be a bridge too far...

We're about to move to a short street in a tiny village, and I'm really nervous about making a good impression with the neighbours right away so we fit in. When we arrived here everyone was so nice, I really hope we're not about to move in amongst a load of snotty knobheads.

There’s good and bad things.

Good:
It’s usually quiet and feels safe.
Children can all play out together in a more old fashioned way rather than organised play dates.
It feels like a community.

Bad:
The parking! Everyone has a 2 car drive but often park on the street or if they have visitors they need to park on the street and it can become overcrowded very quickly and that’s during the pandemic, I’ve no idea what would happen if someone had a party!
The barking dogs. During the pandemic, every other bloody house has got a dog and one in particular let’s theirs out at 11:30pm and 7am which barks to be let in and wakes us up, especially at the weekend.
I have no problem with children playing but they leave their toys all over the road. The children opposite us are the worst, there’s 4 of them and they leave their bikes, scooters and ride on toys all over the front of our drive so we have to move them all before we can go out.

I live in a cul de sac which leads off from a cul de sac. It's very quiet but cars do still drive too fast in it. The houses are angled so you dont overlook your neighbours and people are politely friendly. No issue with children playing out, it rarely happens in the street, they play in their own gardens, but there are no paths in our cul de sac so it doesn't lend itself to playing as there's no where to stand safely when cars or vans enter. We all have our own drives and there are parking lay bys but parking is a bit of an issue as some houses have more cars than parking places. Generally it's fine, probably better than not living in a cul de sac.

I grew up on one and loved the community spirit and how safe it was for children to play outside. Then lived on busy through roads but moved into a close about three years ago. Love it!

I had no idea cul de sacs were so contentious!

Same!

I think if you’re looking to buy in a cul de sac it’s best to do some due diligence, as you would when buying anywhere.

Some cul de sacs will be lovely. Some will be loud. Some through roads will be lovely. Some would be a nightmare to live on.

We live on one and we love it. We’re lucky though as most of our neighbours are couples aged between 40-60ish and there aren’t many kids. Friendly neighbours, we all say ‘hello’ but mostly keep ourselves to ourselves. All detached houses with parking so no issues there.

I’m sure our street will change over the years as people come and go, but we love it at the moment. It’s quiet and we’re set back with a long driveway so our house feels quite private. We’re also on one of the only plots where our back garden isn’t directly overlooked.

I lived on one growing up. Road went half way down and there was a green at the end. As a child it was great, all the kids could play safely and we were always out on our bikes, having water fights etc. As a teenager/young woman I didn’t like it and hated walking home in the dark with it being so quiet and deserted.
Pros & cons I guess!

@WhatAreWordsWorth

I had no idea cul de sacs were so contentious!

Same!

I think if you’re looking to buy in a cul de sac it’s best to do some due diligence, as you would when buying anywhere.

Some cul de sacs will be lovely. Some will be loud. Some through roads will be lovely. Some would be a nightmare to live on.

We live on one and we love it. We’re lucky though as most of our neighbours are couples aged between 40-60ish and there aren’t many kids. Friendly neighbours, we all say ‘hello’ but mostly keep ourselves to ourselves. All detached houses with parking so no issues there.

I’m sure our street will change over the years as people come and go, but we love it at the moment. It’s quiet and we’re set back with a long driveway so our house feels quite private. We’re also on one of the only plots where our back garden isn’t directly overlooked.

This is exactly like ours

It was things like during lockdown if I ever left the house I could see the Neighbour opposite clocking me from her house , she was obsessive about people breaking the lockdown rules, it just made me feel a bit “watched” and like I had to justify my every move. She also notices and comments to me (Pre lockdown) if I ever had any work men at my house - wanted to know what o was getting done etc, not in a general chat kind of way , just came across like she is a nosey cow. I think you can get that in any street but when it’s a cul de sac it’s more intensified. It probably depends on the type of neighbours you have - I have one like hyacinth bucket who knows the ins and outs of everything and gossips about everyone . If I leave the house she suddenly appears and it’s really tricky to get away without sounding rude, sometimes if I’m in the garage she will just appear and go on and on and on - whereas if you live on a busy main road you have a bit more anonymity but I just depends on what bothers you and what doesn’t .

We lived on a dead end road. The parking was horrendous - but hardly anyone had drives. There was also a school round the corner which added to the fun.

But it was noticeably quieter than other roads. Lovely in the evenings.

Mine is a fairly small cul de sac. Would never let my children play in the road, apart from the fact that a local police man made the point that the road was for cars, not children to play on, the road does have couriers speeding up and down it.
Everyone has a driveway but some chose to dump their cars in the area for turning your car round in. It causes a lot of problems and visitors sometimes have to reverse all the way back down the road as there is then nowhere to turn around in.

Definitely talk to as many current residents as you can before buying in one. With neighbours you get on with, it can be fab. With unreasonable people, it can be hell.

We lived on a mainish road until we moved here last year. We're now in a small cup de sac of detached houses. Everyone has driveways etc.
It feels so safe here . It's very neighbourly and everyone chats to each other. I'm not a hugely social person but it's lovely.

I've found this thread fascinating as I assumed cul de sacs were always desirable! We've lived on one for the last 7 years and have just bought a house in another one! We've really loved living in our current one- there is a WhatsApp group (which I'm in but don't tend to post in), and neighbours who want to be cliquey can be, but there's also no judgement about those who don't want to be so involved. (I'm happy to say hi and have an occasional chat outside but don't feel a need to join in on all the road shenanigans. All our neighbours are really polite and friendly, we know if we ever needed help then they would- although I don't believe this is something unique to cul de sacs!

Parking isn't an issue as it's a wide road and everyone has 2 private spaces outside their house. (The cul de sac we're moving to though isn't as wide and although our new house has 2 spaces the houses on the opposite side only have 1 so tend to park in the road so I can see that being more cramped). Where we are now kids play in the cul de sac every day in the summer but that doesn't bother us at all, at least it's somewhere safe for them and on the whole the parents are very respectful about them not playing out too late into the evenings.

I guess the thing is that all cul de sacs will be different depending on houses layout and neighbours, so I don't think this one thread will tell you if cul de sacs in general are for you!

I'm also surprised by some of the comments. I assumed I'd paid a premium as my house is in a cul de sac! Mine is lovely, 25 houses, most have own drives and we don't have any issues with parking. We don't have kids playing out, we have a mix of older neighbours and young families. There are a few teens I think but they don't hang around in the street. Our neighbours are pleasant but mainly keep themselves to themselves, but if I need them they're here like a shot. We had a lovely street party on VE day, arranged by 1 of the older residents.

I couldn't care less about nosy neighbours... in fact I find it a plus to know if there were a break in or something suspicious happening it would be more likely to be noticed. Dodgy neighbours and barking dogs are no worse in a cul de sac than any other street

I love it's so quiet, with very few cars passing by, and the fact I'm in a corner means I get the biggest garden and I'm not overlooked. I'd struggle to move from here if I couldn't find a house in a similar position.

In answer to another post, a "Close" is always a no through road, but not every cul de sac is called one.

I am surprised as well. I wonder if the difference is between ones where houses all have plenty of private parking and ones where they don't? Ours is 12 houses with decent drives etc and it is friendly and secluded but not in a claustrophobic way.

We are happy in ours just being brutally honest. Ours are 1960s semi bungalows, some were chalet style nearly all now have dormers etc. Narrow road, narrow steep drives of course it depends on lots of things.

I am also surprised by the comments but agree that the experience of it must be largely down to the type of house, the layout, what the neighbours are like.

Before moving here I lived on a through road and found the neighbours far more instrusive. A woman across the road who used to peer in through our windows every day when she walked her dog, nextdoor neighbour curtain twitching when my children played in my garden, and another strange woman who I caught stealing plants from the front garden! Nothing like that has happened here in our new quiet road!

Used to live on one hated it parking nightmare and cars turning and turned into playground NEVER again .

We lived in a cul-de-sac and it is the best! Very secure because everyone sees the comings and goings, great for kids and very friendly. We downsized and now on a road but miss our cul-de-sac days

Only negative is parking, but we have a big drive now, so not a problem

Lived in a couple both very pleasant to live in. No noisy neighbours in either which is always a bonus. No parking issues, we all have a drive. This one has more traffic than I would ideally like as it's a bit longer than average so we get more people and delivery vans etc than usual, particularly in lockdown, coming and going as they all have to use the turning area at the end to get out. Plus is obviously no rat run to anywhere else.