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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:
Original poster
Custardcreams35 · 24/10/2023 17:29

We are going back to view on Friday rush hour, but the schools are off so will need to do another stake out next week.

I feel like there is always a compromise between space, condition or location. Previously we have been finding the space we need, in the right location but it needs a full refurb. With prices for works how they are and two young children that’s just not feasible. So if we can get the space and condition, is something like the location of a main road worth the compromise. As we would be in a good area, close to amenities, and catchment for really good schools.

OP posts:
Tumbleweed101 · 24/10/2023 17:58

It also depends how quiet the quiet road actually is too.

I'd not consider a property close to a motorway or busy three/four lane A road but a normal single main road through a town would be ok. You'd get used to the noise in time and with a big back garden you'd hopefully have a restful area in summer.

I live near a rural A road and during the day there is a constant flow of traffic I don't really notice it too much and it is quieter in the evenings too.

I'd probably go for the detached.

Thingamebobwotsit · 24/10/2023 18:08

@Custardcreams35 quiet road every time. If you want DCs to play outside or sit outside and enjoy your garden, distance from a main road makes a huge difference. Consider whether the semi can be extended at a later and factor that into your thinking. The filth and noise on a main road far outweighs any benefits of size in my experience.

Nodashians · 24/10/2023 18:10

It’s not just the noise and pollution it’s the shaking and car/emergency vehicles lights.

justjeansandanicetop · 24/10/2023 18:13

Pollution as well.

Semi on quiet road, definitely

clopper · 24/10/2023 18:17

Detached for me every time. I’ve had awful neighbours. I live on a bus route ( not London) and you get used to it, but the intrusive antisocial noises of others…never.

gotomomo · 24/10/2023 18:19

I lived on a main road having had this very dilemma but it wasn't busy outside of rush hour and 2 buses an hour. Main does vary!

Motnight · 24/10/2023 18:19

I have lived in a flat on a main road. It was the buses that I couldn't ignore. Especially the vibrations!

whenindoubtgotothelibrary · 24/10/2023 18:22

I'm torn on this one as I'm pretty phobic about neighbour noise. We're in London, and after years of putting up with drum kits, loud music and barking dogs we sold a prettier and better located terrace to buy the detached house we are currently in. It's bliss, particularly at this time of year when you don't get garden noise, but we're not on a main road.

I think unless it fronts straight on to the Finchley Road or something I'd probably give the detached serious consideration.

foodislife1 · 24/10/2023 18:28

We live on a main road and as others have said you get used to the noise. Good double glazing plus the benefit of being next to shops and getting more space for your money was a worthwhile compromise for us.

xyz111 · 24/10/2023 18:31

I stayed at someone's house who lived on a main road for a few months. Horrendous!!! The sound drove me mad. And even little things like you don't think about - sat in the garden in the sun with sun cream on, when I came back inside I felt all gritty and dirty. Must have been from the road and poor air quality. Someone could give me a £1m house on a main road and I wouldn't live there.

duchiebun · 24/10/2023 18:36

it’s not just the noise though it’s the pollution too

Beautful · 24/10/2023 18:36

The road could be quiet with wanker noisy neighbours. They could sell out and move bringing in new horrid neighbours. Their kids could grow up and be noisy teenagers.
There has to more comparison than just detached and noise.

Wherethewildthymeblows · 24/10/2023 18:44

I always said I wouldnt buy a house on a main road. Then I did. Detached old period property, set back a bit ( ie with a front garden and high bushes shielding the house from the road) excellent double glazing. To be honest, in winter it is fine. But in the summer, the double glazing means nothing when you are in the back garden and all you hear is the constant passing traffic. At night the road quietens right down but I still struggle to have the windows open because, as it is a main road out of the town, it is the route all the drinks take walking home from a night out. You would not believe the noise they make! Sound travels even further on a still night.

Also consider if you might be impacted by further housing or business development in your area. We have seen a lot of housing go up near us since we moved here and all that traffic also uses the road we live on.

So yes, I have compromised on this issue and no, I wont be doing so again.

Issummernearlyover · 24/10/2023 18:45

I deliberately bought a house on the bus route so my children could easily catch the bus to school and college. I didn't have double glazing. The buses didn't bother me at all. There were two pubs on the opposite side of the street and I enjoyed living in a lively area. I'd buy the house OP.

Cakeorchocolate · 24/10/2023 18:50

Depends just how busy the road is.

I grew up in a semi with nightmare neighbours. (Noisy, intentionally so, also poisoned our dog.)
We moved to a detached on a main road.

So having experienced both I would go for the detached on a main road. Providing it's not ridiculously busy / noisy.

I always said when dh and and I were house buying that the most important thing to me was detached. That's never changed.
You get used to traffic but nightmare neighbours are awful.

Zanatdy · 24/10/2023 21:21

I live on a main road and have spent most of my life on main roads, got a train line out the front and back. Doesn’t bother me, I’d go for space over a quite location personally. Agree with one crash a year. One fairly serious a year, many more bumps. My Uni aged DS always stays with me now as I’m close to the station! He doesn’t like having to walk 20mins to his dads quiet location!

ScroogeMcDuckling · 24/10/2023 21:40

We live on a busy main road, and yes when you are stuck in traffic and can see your driveway, but can’t get on it, it can be irritating.

We hear the buses, bus stop outside, and we can tell which one is which, because each route has a different model and they make different sounds.

We are slightly set back, we have big buddlieas in the front, and we need the windows cleaned monthly.

i would definitely go for the biggest house you can get whilst the children are home, (they take up so much space) and be near all the conveniences like bus stops etc cos when they leave - which won’t be long, you can buy the perfect one bedroom flat, in a quiet complex in a quiet street.

Good luck

ButterMyParsnip · 24/10/2023 22:21

We did the opposite to most people here. We chose the detached house on a main road. I loooove living here. The road can be noisy but I can ignore that. What's really nice is that I can make noise and don't have to worry about loud music or a loud tv disturbing the neighbours. I'd take this over a semi on the quietest road in town.

Original poster
Custardcreams35 · 25/10/2023 09:29

Thank you very much for all your comments. I think it really is down to personal preference. Me and DH really aren’t sensitive to noise but the pollution is a consideration for sure.

OP posts:
CasperGutman · 25/10/2023 13:21

On the information you've given, I'd take the semi. But there are semis on busy roads that I'd take over some detached houses on quiet roads if everything else was better with the semi, so the only answer I can really give is "it depends"!

AnotherDayAnotherDream · 25/10/2023 13:23

Detached.
I’ve lived in semis’s - never again. It doesn’t matter if the road is quiet if you can hear your neighbours TV word for word for several hours each evening, and can’t go to bed until they turn it off.

CasperGutman · 25/10/2023 13:30

AnotherDayAnotherDream · 25/10/2023 13:23

Detached.
I’ve lived in semis’s - never again. It doesn’t matter if the road is quiet if you can hear your neighbours TV word for word for several hours each evening, and can’t go to bed until they turn it off.

Conversely, I've always lived in semis and terraced properties, at eight different addresses, and never had an issue. Current house is a >£750k semi. I suppose it must depend on the house and the neighbours, and not on the basic "house type category"!

TurquoiseDress · 25/10/2023 14:55

Quiet road of me!

Vibrations of the buses and other vehicles going by even if noise is minimised

Heronwatcher · 25/10/2023 15:24

Absolutely quiet road every time. Not just for the noise but also, as others have said, pollution and security- a house on a main road is 100% more likely to be observed as empty as so many more people are going past, plus double deckers will probably be able to see in 2 floors.