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Living on main road

(92 Posts)
kissngate Mon 09-Aug-21 15:13:43

We have started to look at other properties on the market to see whats out there. We viewed one this weekend that ticked a lot on boxes except it was on a busy main road. There is a layby in front of all the properties so you dont have to back out onto the road. However all I could hear in the garden was the road noise although you couldn't hear a thing inside. Anyone else live on a main road, do you get use to it.

kissngate Mon 09-Aug-21 19:38:08

Thanks everyone for comments. The bungalow is set back a little and lorries etc are unable to pull off as its blocked. Main bedroom is at the back and second at the side. Also there is a hedge along lay by pruned by council blocking view to road. As someone said if house wasnt on main road it would be far more expensive it's just the noise from the A road in the garden. Will see.

midgey Mon 09-Aug-21 20:31:02

I live very near a very busy road, I wish the lorries did start at six thirty, four o’clock is normal here! I haven’t got used to the noise in eight years.

Mattsmum2 Mon 09-Aug-21 21:08:14

I moved to a house on a main A road about a month ago from a house that was on a no through road. The reason we bought it was that at the back there’s a 176 foot garden that backs onto a common, it’s bliss. My bedroom is at the front and took me about a week to get used to sleeping with the traffic. There’s a traffic light junction just outside too. My only issue is reversing on to my driveway, it’s a bit if a challenge !

nexus63 Mon 09-Aug-21 21:15:37

i live just off a main road in a busy part of glasgow, during the day it is okay but at night the emergency vehicles still go along with sirens so no windows open at night, but on the plus side i am less than a minute from the supermarket and all the other shops. if you are in a closed off bit and not on the main road you are more likely to have the noise of kids playing.

MoorlandMooner Mon 09-Aug-21 21:21:34

If you have cats it could be a worry.

Chardy Mon 09-Aug-21 22:50:49

Until I was 18, I lived on an A road out of London that was busy until late at night as well as first thing in the morning. I went off to college, and found it difficult to sleep because it was so quiet.

helgawills Tue 10-Aug-21 10:38:36

Not only is the noise disturbing my sleep (can't sleep with window shut), I'm also struggling to breathe, due to the air pollution. The difference last year, when the first lockdown ended and Boris told people to go back to work, was immediate and terrifying.
Don't go there.

Armynanny Tue 10-Aug-21 10:50:50

We moved from a quiet close in a village to a house near a couple of noisy roads. We never got used to the noise and despite having triple glazing fitted in the bedroom closest to the road we could still hear the traffic. We have since moved again to a house in the country with no noise and absolutely love it. We often say we couldn’t live near a road again.

Growing0ldDisgracefully Tue 10-Aug-21 10:52:32

When we first married, we lived in a flat overlooking a busy main road, and with a motorway not far away to the rear of the building, and had the noise from the traffic directly in front of us, and the incessant rumble from the motorway and after a while none of it regjstered. When we moved to our house in the suburbs, it took some getting used to the quiet!
BTW, not all motorcyclists are inconsiderate boy racers and speed freaks: when I come home late on mine, I crawl it gently down the road so as not to wake anyone.
I attach a photo of the club ride members I went out with on Sunday - have a look at the preponderance of grey/white hair and try and work out our average age!

Shandy57 Tue 10-Aug-21 10:59:11

Your post has reminded me of my childhood home kissngate, which was on a bend in a busy road, also a bus route. We didn't notice the traffic noise, but over the twenty years I lived there my Mum and Dad did go to the aid of several car accident victims outside, including a motorcyclist.

Willow73 Tue 10-Aug-21 10:59:33

Never got used to it, especially in the summer when the windows are open. Sitting in the garden wasn’t peaceful either. The house was lovely if we could have moved it things would have been perfect, instead we moved house and made some compromises on the inside but I am much happier without the noise. The traffic is getting more not less, bear that in mind too.
Good luck whatever you decide.

Moggycuddler Tue 10-Aug-21 11:02:40

The noise becomes a background rumble that most people do get used to. But I would certainly consider the pollution element. It can be awful near main roads and you'd be sucking it into your lungs all the time.

Theoddbird Tue 10-Aug-21 11:11:29

I would not live on a main road. Think of the fumes from traffic...

SillyNanny321 Tue 10-Aug-21 11:13:11

How I wish all I had to worry about was traffic noise! As children we lived by a railway never stopped us sleeping or our parents enjoying the garden. Seemed strange moving away but got used to quieter times. Now live by the sea which was ok till about 3months ago a new neighbour moved in next door. Treated to his very loud music from morning to night. He opens doors & windows & I shut mine but still hear his over tv & radio. So maybe check noise pollution of this kind during day & evening as apparently nothing can be done about it! Always worth checking other noise pollution apart from traffic.

Flakesdayout Tue 10-Aug-21 11:17:53

I live near a busy dual carriageway. I have been here for 30 years now but the first few days the noise was awful. Now I miss it and if it goes quiet we usually know something has happened, i.e. an accident or someone jumping of a bridge. When lockdown started it was so quiet and I really enjoyed it. So yes you do get used to it and I do find it soothing at night.

coastalgran Tue 10-Aug-21 11:23:42

Never get used to it, from 2003-2019 I lived on a main road and had a beautiful back garden that you could only sit out in when the morning rush hour traffic had gone and before the evening traffic began, weekends were a complete waste of time. Now I live up a country lane and it is bliss.

BlueRuby Tue 10-Aug-21 11:25:00

I would never buy a house on a main road ever again! We've just spent nearly two years trying to sell our lovely big victorian villa on a main road in Bristol. It was well back off the road (80ft) and the back garden was big and very quiet, with rear access and parking. We were there 22 years and got used to the noise, but were never able to open the front bedroom windows due to the road being used 24/7. Lockdown was very quiet!! Everyone who came to the house loved it but being on the main road definitely put people off. We got several very low offers "because of its location on a busy road"! One guy brought a pollution meter with him and found there was no pollution in the house or back garden. When we were looking for property to move to, being on a quiet road was number one on the list! There were several properties on very busy roads that ticked every box but that one, so we didn't even go to see them. My advice would be to wait until something else comes up on a quiet road!

Bluedaisy Tue 10-Aug-21 12:05:18

We moved in March this year to a house on a main road, at the time my husband viewed it but it was lockdown and it was quiet! To answer your question NO it’s 5 months on and the noise is driving us mad! If we sit out in our back garden we can hear it, if we are in our drive trying to talk to neighbours you have to stop when a lorry goes past and we can’t have our windows open at night because of the noise which I find suffocating! The house is definitely dirtier than where we used to live because of the traffic fumes. My advice if you want peace and quiet is avoid at all costs. Oh and even though we live in a village the lorries, ambulances, fire engines etc use the road as a rat run.

Susie42 Tue 10-Aug-21 12:16:37

It’s not the noise from the main road that bothers us but we have a small airfield just under a mile from our property and it’s like living under the main flight path at Heathrow at times. Now we’re coming out of lockdown it’s much busier as people are using their planes again. It was fairly quiet when we first moved here but more and more people seem to have the money to indulge in their hobby without any consideration for local residents.

JdotJ Tue 10-Aug-21 12:17:48

I live on a Main Road but the house is set well back from the road with both a wide grass verge plus a very wide pavement before the driveway to our house. There is noise but not once inside the house and our main living room is at the back so the patio doors out to the garden are open frequently with no unwelcome noise noticed.
The one thing I do like is, no houses opposite with cars parked in the road, making parking a problem.

Jellygran Tue 10-Aug-21 12:21:54

I live off a busy road. Main problem is litter thrown from cars, people turn round in our driveway, lots of cats get killed. We have a railway line too. Modern double glazing helps.

Ladyleftfieldlover Tue 10-Aug-21 12:29:55

When I first stayed overnight at my son’s place in Kew, I couldn’t believe the noise from the planes! They stop at around 11.30 pm and start again at around 5 am. Walking through Kew Gardens on some days there seems to be a constant stream of planes. Son said he just took a few days to get used to it.

jct1 Tue 10-Aug-21 12:54:25

We moved to our current house on a main road 25 years ago and did indeed get used to the noise. However, in the past few years the traffic has increased, as has the noise, and the air quality is poor. If at all possible, look elsewhere.

jocork Tue 10-Aug-21 13:03:45

I grew up by a railway and used to feel the rumble of an approaching train before I heard it. I found I was most disturbed by light rather than sound at night - if I stayed somewhere with thin curtains and street lights outside I wouldn't sleep a wink - but as I've got older I often fall asleep with lights and TV on all night and don't even make it upstairs! I'm looking to downsize in a year or two and noise and fumes were not something I'd considered but maybe I should - particularly the fumes! However, on my must have list is being close to a decent public transport network so maybe there will be a conflict there. I dread maybe not being able to drive and not being able to get out and about easily.

Rumpunch Tue 10-Aug-21 13:23:05

Make sure to go back of a weekend and evening to see how many cars park in the lay by. I take by lay by you mean like a service road for all your houses rather than a lay by with a drinks and burger van!
I live on what I call a busy road but its not a main road going between towns - it doesn't even have a letter with a number just a name. We are fifty feet back from the road and we've got used to what noise we do have. Cars waiting at the pedestrian crossing with their windows down and music blaring are a different matter. However, they don't stay long! We cannot hear anything in the back garden.
Ask the vendors why they are moving and if it has anything to do with the traffic?