Proximity to the beltway introduces a gentle hum of white noise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up with the beltway wall in our backyard. My mom said when she and my dad bought it my grandmother said- about the big blue wall and noise- that it was like having the ocean in their backyard.

There is some truth to this. My sibling lives very close to an on ramp for a major interstate (don’t ask me why they chose to buy new construction there with a small child). When I stayed there I had to pretend the sound of cars driving by were ocean waves in order to sleep. There was a similar rhythmic pattern to the sound.

[Anonymous]

My parents used to live with RT 32 behind their house like a mile away and one thing is that the hum does become like white noise. That said I would never live that close to a big road now knowing what I know about air pollution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How far does a house need to be from the Beltway in order to not hear this gentle hum and worry about fine particulates from tires?

I think a mile would do it, though there aren't many neighborhoods that are at least a mile from expressways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How far does a house need to be from the Beltway in order to not hear this gentle hum and worry about fine particulates from tires?

I think a mile would do it, though there aren't many neighborhoods that are at least a mile from expressways.

A mile is not a realistic distance. A dead end street in a house that is more than 1000 feet away is protected sufficient. roads that are not 6+ lanes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up with the beltway wall in our backyard. My mom said when she and my dad bought it my grandmother said- about the big blue wall and noise- that it was like having the ocean in their backyard.

I think that's interesting. With regard to the accoustical characteristics of the sound, there probably isn't that much difference between the roar of the ocean and the roar of a freeway. What makes one sound lovely and the other intolerable is all about the meaning we place on it.

[Anonymous]

Pollution, dated, cheaply done interior and no yard.