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Original poster

Detached on a main road? Or Semi on a quiet road?

92 replies

Custardcreams35 · 24/10/2023 09:53

A house has come up which looks ideal, is detached but is on a busy main road - I am talking double decker buses thundering past. It is set back slightly with double glazing, and I reckon shutters and thick curtains would also help. We have two small children and the front is all gated so the safety aspects of them running out would be covered off.

We are struggling to find anything in budget for what we are looking for. I would be more than happy with a semi (currently in terraced) but this house would give us more space than we could have hoped for and is in great condition.

Is this a compromise that you’ve made and regretted? Is it worth it for a detached house?

OP posts:
RudsyFarmer · 24/10/2023 09:54

God no. The vibrations are so much worse than the noise in my experience.

Hyperion100 · 24/10/2023 09:56

Quiet road - every time!!

duchiebun · 24/10/2023 09:59

I would chose a terrace over a big house on a main road!

loseweightpleasegod · 24/10/2023 10:00

Kids like to play out as they get older so I would say quiet road.

anicecuppateaa · 24/10/2023 10:01

Quiet road.

kittenchaos2 · 24/10/2023 10:01

Quiet road every single time.

Helenahandkart · 24/10/2023 10:03

I live in a quiet estate on a bus route. The buses make SO much noise as they come past - the whole (well built) house shakes. It’s noisy in the back garden, and you can’t have any of the front bedroom windows open in the summer.
Opt for the quiet road!

allsfairin · 24/10/2023 10:04

Hmm - your children are likely to be wanting to get on those buses in the near future, being close to a bus stop and bus route is a huge advantage in many ways

Original poster
Custardcreams35 · 24/10/2023 10:06

Yes just to say we are in London, so not noise adverse, but at the moment we are on a quiet side road. This house a street back would be 200k more. For a reason I know!

OP posts:
Janieforever · 24/10/2023 10:08

Been there done that and would never do it again. You get more house foe your money due to this massive compromise.

it’s really bad, from the pollution turning everything black, to not being able to open the windows in summer, to always hearing the noise when in rhe garden, to always feeling visible when you step out the front, it’s honestly not worth it.

Ceebeegee · 24/10/2023 10:20

Smaller house on a quiet road, without question.

I moved from a small semi on a quiet road, to a bigger detached house on a main road. Hated it. The noise, constant noise. Traffic.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 24/10/2023 10:21

Quiet road!

ittakes2 · 24/10/2023 10:24

I used to get my hair tested for lead etc (before IVF) and it was fine while I was working in an office in a city - spent a year at home with twins on main road and had hair tested for lead again before next IVF....my levels were double what they should have been. The air pollution is enough to put me off.

WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps · 24/10/2023 10:28

I’d always put ‘quiet’ onto the plus side of the balance, but it’s not decisive IMO.

Years ago I looked at a lovely house on a main road (with a bus stop right outside!) but it was set back a bit and had a lovely front garden (and back) and had a high wall facing the street. It was bigger and nicer than the place we went on to buy in the same area. The really difficult bit with the main road house was that there was no parking.

Original poster
Custardcreams35 · 24/10/2023 10:29

Wow it’s really unanimous. Also shocking about the pollution @ittakes2

Our motivation for moving is we really really need more space. This house would be 3.5 times bigger than our current house. So it really would make a huge difference in that respect. We also would be close to amenities etc.

OP posts:
ecuse · 24/10/2023 10:31

Hmmm. I'd be tempted to go for big house main road. Noise doesn't massively bother me and I am desperate for more space. Plus I could relax about kids and husband making noise with their drums and guitars in a detached house on a noisy road 😁. But I would think twice about the air pollution. I'd genuinely be looking into questions like whether the bus routes that go past use zero emission vehicles. And I'd be worried about ability to sell it on if we thought we would move again.

How big is big? North circular or Stratford High Street?

Wotchaz · 24/10/2023 10:36

It depends how busy the road is. I’ve got a detached house right on a main road, but it’s the main road through my village so while I get buses and lorries shaking it during the day it’s pretty much silent overnight other than the occasional car passing through. And as a PP said, when my DC are a bit older the fact the bus stop to school/town is right outside the house will be a big plus!

A little while ago we lived on a quiet road that was just off a dual carriageway and the constant 24/7 background traffic buzz was far more disturbing.

CopernicusCalled · 24/10/2023 10:40

We've been faced with this dilemma a few times now and I'd definitely, definitely choose a semi on a quiet road.

Original poster
Custardcreams35 · 24/10/2023 10:40

@ecuse its zone 5 high street in a fairly ‘naice’ area. We are within the ULEZ so vehicles have to be compliant with that now.

OP posts:
ScarboroughHair · 24/10/2023 10:45

Honestly, it depends what you're used to. I grew up on a busy main road and I'd 100% go for the detached. I actually quite like the background noise, quiet roads are too silent for me now. But if you've never lived on one before, I'd be more cautious. For me pollution is the main downside. You have to clean thoroughly as things get coated in a sort of sooty layer over time. I'm 100% in favour of things like electric cars and ULEZ as a result of my childhood home!

I wouldn't have worried about the kids playing out though - most children don't play out on the roads these days anywhere, unless the other road is extremely quiet, and we used to go a couple of streets down to where our friends lived anyway.

Original poster
Custardcreams35 · 24/10/2023 10:50

Oh yes they definitely will not be playing out on the street. Definitely not done around here, too busy and dangerous. We have a tiny garden at the moment and this has a large garden so would be nice for them to play.

The layer of muck on your windows is a good point.

my Nan lives on a very similar busy road (the same buses go down it 😂) and whilst there has always been that background noise, it’s never been intrusive. Her house has always been cosy and restful.

OP posts:
Nodashians · 24/10/2023 10:52

Please don’t buy the house on the busy road, doing the same is the biggest mistake of my life. I moved from it 10 years ago and literally every day I am thankful.

TwinkleDinkleStarDar · 24/10/2023 10:54

Quiet road 100%

I've gone from a quiet road to a main road..... literally only 3 streets away from each other and the noise and vibrations are awful

Even the cars driving past you can hear the wind they create or whatever that sound is. I'd never live on a main or noisy road again

Ariela · 24/10/2023 10:56

I don't think being in ULEZ will make much difference to the emissions in your area, it'll be particulates from tyres that'll be the next worry given electric cars are very very heavy, all that tyre rubber being used will create dust covering your house and articles filling your lungs..

Next thing I promise you: tyre particulates.

So my vote is smaller house quieter area away from main road. Why do you need 3.5x bigger a house anyway? Surely double will be plenty. Before you know it they're teenagers never at home, then away at Uni...

GasPanic · 24/10/2023 10:59

Ariela · 24/10/2023 10:56

I don't think being in ULEZ will make much difference to the emissions in your area, it'll be particulates from tyres that'll be the next worry given electric cars are very very heavy, all that tyre rubber being used will create dust covering your house and articles filling your lungs..

Next thing I promise you: tyre particulates.

So my vote is smaller house quieter area away from main road. Why do you need 3.5x bigger a house anyway? Surely double will be plenty. Before you know it they're teenagers never at home, then away at Uni...

Edited

And brake dust.

If you are inside a city the particles from wood burning stoves are also an issue.