Buying a house next to a dual carriageway

PaulLuke

It's a difficult choice but I moved from a very quiet village to a house which backs onto a busy A road. We've been here for about four months now and I've learnt to completely tune the noise out so you will get used to it.

louise3965

cant be any worse than the hundreds of !!!!!!! seagulls that perch on next doors garage, waking me up as dawn breaks. God they are loud and the noise goes right through you. Traffic is a hum, seagulls an horrible sqwawk So yes, I'd buy it x

dorset_nurse

My last house was probably as close to a dual carriageway as the OP's potential house. I didn't mind it but I must admit it took a bit of getting used to sleeping with the window open. I loved the road being so close for its quick transport for my job and actually didn't mind it. Now its odd trying to sleep in a quieter house, but I wouldn't rule out moving to a similar place again.

picardygirl

OP you dont mention the parking situation (or if you have apologies I've missed it) ..... the parking issue would be a major issue for me! Can delivery lorries get to you without a problem, can visitors park easily, thats much more of an issue that a major road in front of me. I have friends that you cant park near their houses, or have to have a permit to park. This would be a no go for me, but obviously works for others ....... personally for me i like busy roads, but i've always lived on a main road til i moved in with my OH, two houses later and we live on a busier road (bus route), the first weekend we moved in, the buses, which go past every 12 minutes drove my OH mad, but after a few weeks, he said himself never even realised when one went past.

So if it ticked all the boxes i would seriously consider it ...... I understand location location location, but if the area is right, convenient for train stations etc. Do you know how long the current owners have lived there, what reason have they given you, if any, for moving? Maybe a pack of lies, but does the reason sound plausible?

chris_m

picardygirl wrote: »

OP you dont mention the parking situation (or if you have apologies I've missed it) ..... the parking issue would be a major issue for me! Can delivery lorries get to you without a problem, can visitors park easily, thats much more of an issue that a major road in front of me.

The OP said there was a layby, however it would be wise to investigate what that is actually intended for - just short stops for deliveries, residents' parking, any time limits on parking, whether it tends to get used by anyone not related to the property, etc?

The other thing I would check is whether the main road is a frequent route for emergency vehicles and whether or not there are any traffic-lighted junctions close by which would entail them using their sirens.
I live just off a main road (leading to one of the only four bridges across the river Itchen) and with a traffic-lighted junction 30 yards up the road - at times the noise is terrible, not helped (I suspect) by the fact that just down the road appears to be a house occupied by paramedics and ambulance crews who appear to park at home and are therefore "on call" with roughly 50% of their shouts sending them past me
I'm really looking forward to when I can retire and move away, that will be one of my main criteria for wherever I look.

MariaTc

Thanks, picardygirl and chris_m. Fortunately there are no traffic-lighted junctions in sight. With regards to the layby, I understand it is primarily used by residents, it's about a 100 yards long, starts right in front of the house and there are four other houses located along this stretch. On the day of my viewing there were two cars parked on the layby. The section of the layby in front of the house is about 3 passenger cars long, hence, I don't think that, joining the dual carriageway or coming off it will ever be a problem. And with regards to deliveries and visitors the house is quite well-serviced, there is a double garage, a drive and the layby.

madtrekker

I think you'd probably get used to the noise, especially as most road noise is generally a sort of constant drone and quite different to when you live next to a railway line when it's quiet and then suddenly a thundering great train comes along.

If this is your perfect home, then the road is probably a small compromise.

The issue is more about when the time comes to sell the house on and its saleability. If you're planning on staying long-term, then it's probably not a huge concern.

I'd make plans to visit at various times of the day and in different weather conditions to see how bad the noise gets.

hazyjo

Most get used to the noise, some never will. Will always be much harder to sell a house like that. Also, visit during rush hour, but bear in mind that might actually be when the traffic is at its quietest as it'll probably be at its slowest! Visit as late as you can when the road is clear. That's when they'll be going at speed and when it could well be noisier.

If you have or want cats, please don't buy it!

Jx

bodmil

I've grown up about 500m from a motorway and I am still shocked at how noisy I find it 25 years later.

J_i_m

For the past two years I lived a stones throw from a busy main high-street. My bedroom backed onto the noisy side, and also there was always a glow at night from the street lighting.

It took a little while to get used to it, but you do after a while and learn to tune all that background noise and light out.

Last week, I moved back to the family home, and suddenly I have a bedroom that overlooks the garden and has minimal interference from street lighting.

So far... I've had broken sleep where I keep waking up because there isn't some truck clattering over a pothole or drain or generic traffic periodically going past, having got so used to it.. the sudden withdraw of it has affected my sleep pattern and for some reason possibly whilst in REM sleep I think I can hear a kind of static in my ears, weird.

The point I'm making though is that the adjustment works both ways, and shouldn't really be a major issue in house location choice.