If you like quiet, do NOT move to the NoVA suburbs

[Anonymous]

I've recently been at home consistently during the day for the first time in years. Had an unfortunate medical diagnosis and needed some extra time for treatments and rest.

Holy crap, the level of noise has been terrible. Every day, starting by 8, there are leaf blowers, lawn mowers, weed-eaters, pressure washers, air compressors, heavy trucks, and pretty much anything else that you can think of that is loud. There's no place to escape the noise -- it permeates the whole house with doors and windows buttoned up tight, and goes unceasingly on from dawn 'til dusk.

I'm all for small business, but these contractors and the homeowners who hire them seem out of control. Has there been any discussion of a better regulatory framework to limit use of outdoor tools to certain days or hours? How about outlawing gas-powered leaf blowers altogether?

I was previously planning to stay in place when I retire, but I just don't think the quality of life would be good in the suburbs based off the past couple weeks -- it's truly been soul sucking.

[Anonymous]

Take a 2 week vacation to any Asian country and then come back and you won’t notice the noise.

[Anonymous]

Don’t forget airplane and helicopter noise!

[Anonymous]

I'm always confused when people complain about noise. You don't live in the countryside.

If you live near people, people do things. How do you think lawns get cut? things get transported? People do work on their homes?

Ultimately I think there are just some people exceptionally sensitive to noise. I can't imagine being remotely bothered by airplane noise - and I live 1 mile from a major airport.

[Anonymous]

Opposite of the opposite of the Asian countries is Germany. They have quiet hours which are strictly enforced, culturally instilled, and days like Sunday where shops and other businesses have to remain closed. It's slightly inconvenient but you adapt quickly and look forward to a period of predictable peace and quiet.

[Anonymous]

Not sure which neighborhood you live in. Ours has an occasional lawn mower or leaf blower or other contractor noise but nowhere near every day. We are surrounded by trees so lots of days the noisiest sounds we hear are the hawks, owls, and other birds and we love it.

[Anonymous]

I have to wonder if the countryside is any better. A lot of land often means gunshots, ATVs, chainsaws, and more. The world may simply be loud everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Also the delivery trucks and garbage trucks! We have 2x a week garbage collection, 1x a week recycling and 1x a week yard waste and they all come ridiculously early in the morning (around 6:20am.)

[Anonymous]

I hear you, OP. My neighborhood in MoCo is like this, too. And my neighbor got an Alexa, which she shrieks at endlessly from her back porch, which is close to my own back yard.
Life in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

At the beginning of the pandemic and “work from home” there were many complaints on NextDoor expressing similar concerns OP. I have worked at home since 2013 and it’s not really an issue. I barely notice my neighbors’ lawn companies.

You may want to try some Loop earbuds or get new windows that are better at keeping out noise. You may also notice it less when you actually have something to do. Just laying there resting it’s probably more noticeable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure which neighborhood you live in. Ours has an occasional lawn mower or leaf blower or other contractor noise but nowhere near every day.

There are some neighborhoods where 80% of people use a landscaping service and at least one or two homes are doing a kitchen remodel or other major renovation, so every weekday your street has at least a handful of construction and landscaping crews out making noise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take a 2 week vacation to any Asian country and then come back and you won’t notice the noise.

LOL, when we were in an Indian city at our family's apartment, the guy next door would rev his transmission-less motorbike every morning at 6:30am. I'd much rather deal with a leaf blower during the day for fifteen minutes than that!

I live in NWDC, and there's always lawn noise, trucks, sirens, tree trimming, planes, whatever. I've gotten used to it, and I'm not sure one will find quiet in the city or suburbs. The closest we've come is renting a house out in Shenandoah, but then in the evening we had someone in the area practicing their shooting.

[Anonymous]

In my parent’s old neighborhood, they got together and hired the same mowers and said they wanted them to come on one day and they did. It worked wonderfully for years.

[Anonymous]

Our neighborhood has been invaded too. I purchased noise canceling headphones this week. We had leaf blowers going next door from 8-11 for leaf clean up.

Our town is proposing an ordinance requiring electric blowers only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the beginning of the pandemic and “work from home” there were many complaints on NextDoor expressing similar concerns OP. I have worked at home since 2013 and it’s not really an issue. I barely notice my neighbors’ lawn companies.

You may want to try some Loop earbuds or get new windows that are better at keeping out noise. You may also notice it less when you actually have something to do. Just laying there resting it’s probably more noticeable.

Also I am not sure what you think the remedy is. It’s not quieter if I mow my lawn or blow my leaves myself. It will just happen while you are eating dinner on your patio instead of 10am on a Tuesday. Are you suggesting a moratorium on home renovations? Plumbers? Painters?