Does anyone live near a main road??

Norma_Desmond

I think that unless you live in the real wilderness you're always going to get some traffic noise.
Our house is on the edge of a small village and fronts on to little more than a lane, but especially in summer we get tractors, combines, potato lorries, sheep carriers, more tractors and even the occasional boy racer.
I hope you can get used to it eventually.

SarahShattered

We live on a main road. It's also a 'blue route' so, plenty of siren action up and down!
There's also a train line nearby. When we first moved in I was horrified by the level of noise. Now I almost never hear the trains.

We have double glazing which helps. We don't open the downstairs front room windows, but have everything open at the back of the house.
Our bedroom is at the front, we sleep with the windows open, I zone out the noise, obviously it's quieter at night anyway.

If I want to have a nap during the day, I close my bedroom windows.

I really hope you get used to the noise.

gibhouse8

Thanks all for the positive replies. I think I just need to give it a try as 3 days isn't much of an effort. I'm sure once I'm back at work all day I wont notice it as I'll be home once it has quietened down. Its sucha shame as I love the area. Its in a lovely village called Gnosall and there are loads of nice walks nearby for the dogs - who don't seem to be bothered by the noise - happily dozing away by me now while I am stressing about the noise! I really do hope I can get used to it to otherwise I don't know how we will get out of the situation apart from winning the lotto! Hopefully I won't be asking for advice on those places that buy your house quickly in the near future!

gibhouse8

SarahShattered wrote: »

We live on a main road. It's also a 'blue route' so, plenty of siren action up and down!
There's also a train line nearby. When we first moved in I was horrified by the level of noise. Now I almost never hear the trains.

We have double glazing which helps. We don't open the downstairs front room windows, but have everything open at the back of the house.
Our bedroom is at the front, we sleep with the windows open, I zone out the noise, obviously it's quieter at night anyway.

If I want to have a nap during the day, I close my bedroom windows.

I really hope you get used to the noise.

When you say you were horrified, did you want to sell the house? How long did it take for you to zone out? I'm just worried as even with all doors/windows closed I can still hear the lorries going past.

fybar

We live on a main road and are now used to it, although it does take a while. We went through the same feelings - loved the house design and space, moved in but almost immediately had regrets because of the traffic noise.

The way I rationalised it was to realise that any house you choose will always be a compromise. In our case we got a central position close to work and shops so no commuting, a bigger house for the kids to grow up in, no burglaries or yobs hanging round outside - in exchange for a bit of noise. It's human nature to focus on the negatives and it is difficult to switch you point of view but worth persevering.

Best advice is not to obsess about it and give it time.

gibhouse8

fybar wrote: »

We live on a main road and are now used to it, although it does take a while. We went through the same feelings - loved the house design and space, moved in but almost immediately had regrets because of the traffic noise.

The way I rationalised it was to realise that any house you choose will always be a compromise. In our case we got a central position close to work and shops so no commuting, a bigger house for the kids to grow up in, no burglaries or yobs hanging round outside - in exchange for a bit of noise. It's human nature to focus on the negatives and it is difficult to switch you point of view but worth persevering.

Best advice is not to obsess about it and give it time.

Thanks fybar. This is really helpul. I've bought some ear plugs and actually its quietened down quite a lot. So it might just be a case of it being noisy during week days but evening and wkends ok. Fingers crossed. I was also potentially worried about having kids here (I'm only 25 so still a bit of time yet!) as the traffic might keep a baby awake plus the size of the garden, but I think that might be over analysing things that little bit too much. Must stop obsessing as you say and try and enjoy the new house.

Norma_Desmond

There's always a bit of 'strangeness' when you first buy and move in to a house - in our first week a goat got into our shed and wrecked it, we found a tree growing through the (supposedly working) boiler, and a drainpipe fell off.
I can laugh about it now - promise!

Penny_Farthing_2

How about striking a bargain with yourself. Something like, I'll give it 6 months and see how I feel then. It might take the edge off the feeling of panic/dread that your dream house hasn't turned out as you hoped. Every time you start to feel iffy, just say I'm giving it 6 months - no need to feel bad now. Perhaps you can then focus on nesting into your new house. Music in the background might help. I think the fishtank idea earlier is good too.

never_enough

I've lived on busy roads & it does get easier the longer you live there. Where I live now is not busy as far as I'm concerned, but it is all relative. My MIL, who lives in a cul de sac, always (& I mean always ) says it's really noisy. I imagine that the stresses of moving & unpacking don't help, so try not to get too stressed.
As you have double glazing there are other things that you can do to help block out noise. Thick interlined curtains are a must, with heavily reinforced curtain poles to take the extra weight! Thoughtful planting in the garden can also really help. A hedge, if you have the room is a good idea too, double planted even better. Neither will absorb all noise but both will help. Distracting yourself for the next few weeks is a good idea too, music, radio, audio books whatever whilst you sort things out & re-decorate. Sitting there listening to the next car or lorry go past will make you hate it even more.
I hope that you settle in ok.

isitpossible

I live near a train line.. maybe 100m?? away.. when we first ,moved in it was sonoisy.. we moved late summer / autumn too and windows were closed most of the time really.. come spring / summer the first year we were shocked a bit.. HOWEVER.. 3 years on now and we barely notice it.. we do notice when sitting outside for a BBQ etc chatting and every so often a train goes past. and we all stop talking lol.

It has never affected the kids tho, oldest was 2.5 when we moved (middle was 9 months) baby was born at home here, even the horns going off on the trains dont wake them at night or during naps.

You will get used to the noise I think it just comes with time..

Nowadays my missus moans about the noise my fish tank filter makes LOL