House buying - kids play in street

beedeedee

When our son was young - we deliberately looked around for evidence of other children about. It was important to us that he had playmates nearby.
As we have got older though (and son is grown up), we wouldn't contemplate a house near kids if we could avoid it. Just haven't got the patience we used to have regarding footballs etc.
I would say though, if something like this puts you off a house already (before you've even bought it) - then don't!!

wherediditallgo

You're right, beedeedee, but it's not just as you've got older, it's as what behaviour is socially acceptable has changed too. When we were young children, my parents wanted to live within a short walking distance of the school we were going to go to. Children going to that school were collected by their parents & didn't hang about in the streets beyond school finishing time. When we were in our early teens, they didn't mind having a primary school at the other end of their road, & didn't mind us being further away from our secondary schools as we were older & more able to travel the distance unaccompanied. We didn't hang about in the streets after dusk, there were never more than 3 or 4 of us in total & we were all very polite. It wouldn't have occurred to us to kick a ball on someone else's wall or garage, or give them a mouthful if the ball hit their car, & if it had happened accidentally we'd have apologised & got ourselves off like a shot.

However, now I'm older there's no way that I'd want to be living near a secondary school nor have children playing in the road in which I live. Children seem ruder, noisier & out far later than I used to be. I know they need somewhere to play, but regardless of that, I can do without children sitting on my car, kicking the ball about until all hours, shouting at ear-splitting volume & swearing their heads off. I come home to relax, not to hear their noise until when they feel like going to their own homes. I sometimes feel some parents are deaf to their own children's noise, & can't see the annoyance their own children can create for other people. It's not that people dislike children, it's the noise that comes with them. Normal play noise during the day is one thing & is usually nice to hear for a bit, but children making enough racket to wake the devil of an evening or night-time is another.

OP, the cost of houses these days is too much to pay to put up with things (be they noisy children or noisy animals) disturbing you if you don't have to. If you've noticed the play area now & it's enough to even slightly concern you, then I'd say don't buy the property, because whatever little use it's getting now you can multiply that by at least five in the summer months with the longer evenings, plus the school holidays, & it will bug you even more then. Apart from anything else, I think it would be extremely bad form for you to move in & then start having issues with your neighbour over it, when it's clearly visible to you now. Their children may be an absolute delight or they may be the spawn from the devil, but it'll be very hard for you to query this if you take on the property knowing the play area is there & so close to your home. In the shoes of your neighbour, I'd make sure my children & their friends knew not to kick the ball near your car or on your walls etc, but I wouldn't have much patience for complaints from you about normal noise they made playing during daylight hours because you knew the play area was there when you came to view the place. So, if it's bothering you now, then don't move there. Also, bear in mind that children can usually spot the person a mile off who doesn't approve of their behaviour before you've said a word, & you could become the target for the more brazen of them, who are likely to give you a mouthful of abuse or more for not showing them 'respect'. It's more hassle than you need.

Debt_Free_Chick

I guess kids playing in the street could be a good sign - might show that there is no concern about the kids coming to harm.

I am from "that generation" that played in the street and loved it - OK, possibly as I was the only girl in a street full of boys and I wanted to play football & cricket! :rotfl:

You could be hard-pressed to find a street where kids don't play - especially if it's a nice quiet street.

And even if there were no "evidence", how could you be sure that kids don't play in the street?

Surely a better idea is to visit over a weekend or forthcoming half-term and see what's going on?

They could be very nice polite kids who actually respect other people's property

Running_Horse

What sort of society have we become? We moan when they spend hours on their PS2s, and moan when they go out and get fresh air. No wonder they get confused.

Let the children play.

Keeping_Positive

If you think it will affect your enjoyment then choose the other but remember that even kids playing in a garden create noise and you may have the odd ball come across. Make sure you do more research as advised above.

In the summer our street can be fairly noisy with kids even just in their back gargens playing, ours included. Trampolines are great for kids but noisy and kids cant help but shout occasionally which when theres about 10-15 nearby means its quite often.

I enjoy the noise mostly as it means kids are doing what they should be and not stuck inside. I also like it when they play out front making friends and I am not one to say play outside other peoples houses but not ours! I do expect them to be polite though.

wherediditallgo

It's also a question of what you're used to. I'm a townie, surrounded by the noise from traffic & general life all day, so maybe coming home from work to peace & quiet is more important to me than to someone who has quiet around them for much of the day anyway. Yet I couldn't live in countryside like my parents do, as it's far too quiet during the day for me - the first time I heard a cow moo at night, I nearly lost a stone with the shock.

If you're not used to the sound of children playing, dogs barking etc, it stands out far more than it would do to someone who's lived in those surroundings for years. Some changes are too much for some people to take on & that's fair enough, but they've got to be fair to their new neighbours too.

Debt_Free_Chick

wherediditallgo wrote: »

Yet I couldn't live in countryside like my parents do, as it's far too quiet during the day for me - the first time I heard a cow moo at night, I nearly lost a stone with the shock.

OT but I can't resist.

My very good friend was born & raised in New York City and now lives just off the Finchley Road.

She can stand about 24hours in our very rural village (one pub, one Church .... nothing else ) but finds the silence deafening .... especially the Church clock which chimes the hour.

Despite being used to the humming drone of traffic which seems to run 24/7 when she's at home, the Church clock chiming wakes her up!!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I kid you not!

Lotus-eater

Kids playing in the garden and making noise by having fun is one thing, kids kicking a ball against your house and being cheeky/being abusive is quite another. Go back to your new houses at different times and my biggest piece of advice is meet your neighbours before you make an offer, I still can't believe people move in without doing this. Bad neighbours, if its their kids or them, can make your life a nightmare.

wherediditallgo

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

OT but I can't resist.

My very good friend was born & raised in New York City and now lives just off the Finchley Road.

She can stand about 24hours in our very rural village (one pub, one Church .... nothing else ) but finds the silence deafening .... especially the Church clock which chimes the hour.

Despite being used to the humming drone of traffic which seems to run 24/7 when she's at home, the Church clock chiming wakes her up!!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I kid you not!

I can believe it. I'm not too far from her in London, & when you live in such a busy city you become accustomed to the sounds you hear every day. Sounds that you hear once in a blue moon stick out like a sore thumb. The first time I stayed overnight in Brighton & was woken up by seagulls at 5am, they sounded so loud that it was like the re-making of "The Birds". I've stayed there so often since then that they no longer bother me.

I think the OP should give this house a miss. When you move somewhere, it takes time to get to know your neighbours & for them to get to know you. If it's enough of an issue that the OP is mentioning it already, this situation has all the makings of becoming something one or both parties will find difficult to deal with. Unless you're buying for investment, people stay in their homes for several years at a time, & if this turns out to be something they can't live with, they could be stuck with an annoyed & unfriendly neighbour long after the children have grown up & moved on to other pastimes - noise from playing could become noise from late-night parking, barbecues in the garden etc. Good neighbours are hard to find, but even harder to keep unless both parties show willing.

BobProperty

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

OT but I can't resist.

My very good friend was born & raised in New York City and now lives just off the Finchley Road.

She can stand about 24hours in our very rural village (one pub, one Church .... nothing else ) but finds the silence deafening .... especially the Church clock which chimes the hour.

Despite being used to the humming drone of traffic which seems to run 24/7 when she's at home, the Church clock chiming wakes her up!!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I kid you not!

I can quite understand that. I've lived next to a railway line and you just get used to it. Equally, I get asked "How do I put up with all the aircraft noise?" What noise?