Thoughts on living near a busy street?

[Anonymous]

I would buy a house on a busy street if it got me (or rather my kids) into a great school distcirt that we otherwise coudln't afford. There are always compromises.

[Anonymous]

We live on a busy road. There are some issues to be aware of:

Noise: we are set back a little and it isn't too noticeable from inside - we don't have any problems with vibration and we aren't really aware of the traffic any more.

Safety: our kids were never the kind to run into the road, and they certainly wouldn't run into the highway outside! I am not sure that a quiet road with occasional cars is any safer than a busy road, after all, it only takes is one car, and with a highway there is no false sense of security. There is plenty of room to learn to ride a bike in our neighborhood away from the highway. There is a sidewalk in front of our house and throughout our entire neighborhood so we are able to take advantage of this.

The main reason we chose our house was affordability: we got a great house, in one of the best school clusters, in a great walkable neighborhood for 20 or 25% less than we would have paid for a comparable house away from the road.

Resale is an issue: you pay less, but you will also sell it for less. The bigger issue is that in a down market it can take a lot longer to sell a house with an obvious downside, like being on a main road. That said, for us, the compromise was definitely worth it.

[Anonymous]

I would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. The long-term health consequences of living near all that pollution are not worth it. The health effects on developing children makes it crazy to even consider. Sorry to offend those who have already bought homes on busy streets. I know you need to rationalize your purchases, but honestly, OP, if you have young children, don't do it. Yes, one must compromise, and those who have already made purchases can't change the past, but OP you need not buy this house, even if it's nice and renovated and in a good school district.

If you are older and don't have kids, that's a different story. Your hearing can become less sensitive as you get older, so the noise won't bother you. Heath effects are still present, but adults are less vulnerable than children.

That said, I'd never do it. Living on a no-traffic street has always been a priority for me, and yes I've had to compromise a lot on the house because of it.

[Anonymous]

Neighbors living on a busy street complain lots about front of house rattling when trucks/buses go by, grime on the front of the house from passing traffic, and fear of children opening the backyard gate and running out to the street. They talk about moving to another house to escape these problems. Of course, they got their house for a lot less than many others in the neighborhood because of the location.

I'd personally look for a different house to avoid the busy street. I suppose if buying the busy-street house at a low price is really your only option for getting into a good neighborhood with good schools, then maybe I'd take the trade-off, but I'd definitely try to look for other options (maybe a smaller or more run-down house in the same neighborhood for similar money).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live on a busy road. There are some issues to be aware of:

Noise: we are set back a little and it isn't too noticeable from inside - we don't have any problems with vibration and we aren't really aware of the traffic any more.

Safety: our kids were never the kind to run into the road, and they certainly wouldn't run into the highway outside! I am not sure that a quiet road with occasional cars is any safer than a busy road, after all, it only takes is one car, and with a highway there is no false sense of security. There is plenty of room to learn to ride a bike in our neighborhood away from the highway. There is a sidewalk in front of our house and throughout our entire neighborhood so we are able to take advantage of this.

The main reason we chose our house was affordability: we got a great house, in one of the best school clusters, in a great walkable neighborhood for 20 or 25% less than we would have paid for a comparable house away from the road.

Resale is an issue: you pay less, but you will also sell it for less. The bigger issue is that in a down market it can take a lot longer to sell a house with an obvious downside, like being on a main road. That said, for us, the compromise was definitely worth it.

I could have written this post. We lived on a relatively busy road (2 lanes, 40mph speed limit) for nearly ten years. We loved the house and it had a nice big backyard where you couldn't even hear the so-called road noise. Our road was also a snow emergency route, so it was plowed to pavement right away while many of our neighbors in courts in our neighborhood were stuck for DAYS.

Our neighborhood had sidewalks, so we could walk to friends' houses and learn to ride bikes there without worrying. Also, our bus stop was RIGHT in front of our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on a busy road. There are some issues to be aware of:

Noise: we are set back a little and it isn't too noticeable from inside - we don't have any problems with vibration and we aren't really aware of the traffic any more.

Safety: our kids were never the kind to run into the road, and they certainly wouldn't run into the highway outside! I am not sure that a quiet road with occasional cars is any safer than a busy road, after all, it only takes is one car, and with a highway there is no false sense of security. There is plenty of room to learn to ride a bike in our neighborhood away from the highway. There is a sidewalk in front of our house and throughout our entire neighborhood so we are able to take advantage of this.

The main reason we chose our house was affordability: we got a great house, in one of the best school clusters, in a great walkable neighborhood for 20 or 25% less than we would have paid for a comparable house away from the road.

Resale is an issue: you pay less, but you will also sell it for less. The bigger issue is that in a down market it can take a lot longer to sell a house with an obvious downside, like being on a main road. That said, for us, the compromise was definitely worth it.

I could have written this post. We lived on a relatively busy road (2 lanes, 40mph speed limit) for nearly ten years. We loved the house and it had a nice big backyard where you couldn't even hear the so-called road noise. Our road was also a snow emergency route, so it was plowed to pavement right away while many of our neighbors in courts in our neighborhood were stuck for DAYS.

Our neighborhood had sidewalks, so we could walk to friends' houses and learn to ride bikes there without worrying. Also, our bus stop was RIGHT in front of our house.

I agree also. We have lived on a busy road for almost 10 years. You really do get used to some of the noise issues (which really aren't that bad). Our back yard is fenced in so we don't worry about our little one escaping.

[Anonymous]

OP - you should be able to tell from spending a few minutes in a house whether vibrations and rattling are going to be an issue. we don't have these issues in ours, despite the busy road.

[Anonymous]

We live on a cut through street just down from a busy busy street. We have a huge fenced in back yard and don't think about the busy-ness (a word?) or the noise. When i get ready to pull out and I see cars coming, I pull out (within reason) because it IS my street.

Our front yard is big enough where the kids are not inclined to run out beyond the edge of our property. do we hear buses, sirens, etc? Yes, but living where we do we knew we would.
for me, if we didn't have that fenced in back yard, i might feel differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. The long-term health consequences of living near all that pollution are not worth it. The health effects on developing children makes it crazy to even consider. Sorry to offend those who have already bought homes on busy streets. I know you need to rationalize your purchases, but honestly, OP, if you have young children, don't do it. Yes, one must compromise, and those who have already made purchases can't change the past, but OP you need not buy this house, even if it's nice and renovated and in a good school district.

If you are older and don't have kids, that's a different story. Your hearing can become less sensitive as you get older, so the noise won't bother you. Heath effects are still present, but adults are less vulnerable than children.

That said, I'd never do it. Living on a no-traffic street has always been a priority for me, and yes I've had to compromise a lot on the house because of it.

You sound a little bit nuts. I bet there are lots of other things you would NEVER do.

I grew up on a busy road and I am strong as an ox! maybe stronger... and this was in the days of leaded petrol....

[Anonymous]

Our first house was a beautiful bungalow on a busy street and I could never get used to the noise and disruption of cars going by. It was a 2 lane road but a main artery in and out of town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. The long-term health consequences of living near all that pollution are not worth it. The health effects on developing children makes it crazy to even consider. Sorry to offend those who have already bought homes on busy streets. I know you need to rationalize your purchases, but honestly, OP, if you have young children, don't do it. Yes, one must compromise, and those who have already made purchases can't change the past, but OP you need not buy this house, even if it's nice and renovated and in a good school district.

If you are older and don't have kids, that's a different story. Your hearing can become less sensitive as you get older, so the noise won't bother you. Heath effects are still present, but adults are less vulnerable than children.

That said, I'd never do it. Living on a no-traffic street has always been a priority for me, and yes I've had to compromise a lot on the house because of it.

You sound a little bit nuts. I bet there are lots of other things you would NEVER do.

I grew up on a busy road and I am strong as an ox! maybe stronger... and this was in the days of leaded petrol....

NP here, but I agree with the poster who would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. No way, no how. I don't think it's nuts at all. We live on a dead-end street, so we ONLY contend with street traffic and visitors, in a very quiet neighborhood. That was a priority for us, and having visited friends who live on busy streets, it just confirms that I made the right choice for me.

Others can choose differently, and I hope they do because when I move, I want another house on a quiet dead-end street.

[Anonymous]

The two PPs who live on busy streets (13:38 and 23:44) describe my feelings to a T. We live on a busy street and sure, if I had all the money in the world I'd probably go somewhere a bit quieter. But the street is the only reason I could afford a 2,000 sq ft house in one of the best suburban school districts, and I'd make that tradeoff again in a heartbeat. I like that we can walk to a supermarket and starbucks even though we're in the suburbs; I like that our street gets plowed and that during rush hour there is a metrobus route just down the block. One downside that I don't think anyone else has mentioned is that the community feeling is definitely a little bit lesser than it might be if we were on a more isolated street. People don't hang out in front of their homes and get to know one another across the porches. And there's no community association (which might actually be useful in trying to get MoCo to enforce the 30mph speed limit every once in a while.)

Our backyard is fenced, and I keep toying with fencing the front yard, although even with 2 pretty wild children I've never had a serious fear that they might run into the street (I'm also paranoid enough about accidents that I'd probably be equally neurotic on a slow suburban street, I think sometimes accidents are more likely in the locations where you're less vigilant.)

OP, I think you have to measure your own priorities and recognize that it is a tradeoff. If living near a busy street gets you a house with other advantages (size, school district, other amenities), then it may be worth it. Just go in with your eyes open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. The long-term health consequences of living near all that pollution are not worth it. The health effects on developing children makes it crazy to even consider. Sorry to offend those who have already bought homes on busy streets. I know you need to rationalize your purchases, but honestly, OP, if you have young children, don't do it. Yes, one must compromise, and those who have already made purchases can't change the past, but OP you need not buy this house, even if it's nice and renovated and in a good school district.

If you are older and don't have kids, that's a different story. Your hearing can become less sensitive as you get older, so the noise won't bother you. Heath effects are still present, but adults are less vulnerable than children.

That said, I'd never do it. Living on a no-traffic street has always been a priority for me, and yes I've had to compromise a lot on the house because of it.

I agree with this PP -- this is why no one with children live in cities -- oh wait, families do live in cities. Well I guess they all just have long-term health consequences. I don't know how the PP even lives in this area if she is so worried about exposure to pollution etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. The long-term health consequences of living near all that pollution are not worth it. The health effects on developing children makes it crazy to even consider. Sorry to offend those who have already bought homes on busy streets. I know you need to rationalize your purchases, but honestly, OP, if you have young children, don't do it. Yes, one must compromise, and those who have already made purchases can't change the past, but OP you need not buy this house, even if it's nice and renovated and in a good school district.

If you are older and don't have kids, that's a different story. Your hearing can become less sensitive as you get older, so the noise won't bother you. Heath effects are still present, but adults are less vulnerable than children.

That said, I'd never do it. Living on a no-traffic street has always been a priority for me, and yes I've had to compromise a lot on the house because of it.

I agree with this PP -- this is why no one with children live in cities -- oh wait, families do live in cities. Well I guess they all just have long-term health consequences. I don't know how the PP even lives in this area if she is so worried about exposure to pollution etc.

NP here. I read that they did a study and found that children growing up in LA were more likely to have asthma and other respiratory problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would NEVER buy a house on a busy street. The long-term health consequences of living near all that pollution are not worth it. The health effects on developing children makes it crazy to even consider. Sorry to offend those who have already bought homes on busy streets. I know you need to rationalize your purchases, but honestly, OP, if you have young children, don't do it. Yes, one must compromise, and those who have already made purchases can't change the past, but OP you need not buy this house, even if it's nice and renovated and in a good school district.

If you are older and don't have kids, that's a different story. Your hearing can become less sensitive as you get older, so the noise won't bother you. Heath effects are still present, but adults are less vulnerable than children.

That said, I'd never do it. Living on a no-traffic street has always been a priority for me, and yes I've had to compromise a lot on the house because of it.

I agree with this PP -- this is why no one with children live in cities -- oh wait, families do live in cities. Well I guess they all just have long-term health consequences. I don't know how the PP even lives in this area if she is so worried about exposure to pollution etc.

NP here. I read that they did a study and found that children growing up in LA were more likely to have asthma and other respiratory problems.

And did all those children live on a busy street? LA is a big place. I'm not sure that the level of pollution exposure is significantly greater for someone living on Wisconsin Avenue when compared to someone living a few block away from Wisconsin Avenue in Chevy Chase Village.