Would you buy a house that you can hear highway noise?

[Anonymous]

How does the highway particulate compare to living in Manhattan or another major city?

[Anonymous]

I live almost exactly 2000 ft from the GW Parkway in Mclean, and about 4000 ft from the beltway. You can definitely hear road noise especially in the winter and especially when roads are wet. I definitely thought about it before buying, but if you look at a map and want to stay 1 mile from a highway you pretty much have to rule out much of Arlington and Mclean inside and just outside the beltway. These are some of the most expensive areas around, so roads aren't discouraging enough people to push prices down. So yes, definitely a consideration and all else equal i would live further from noise, but it's a trade-off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought 1300 ft from 66. We don't hear highway noise. The danger zone for particulates is 500 feet, elevated up to 1000 ft. Less if you're upwind of the highway. There are other factors at play too. We are surrounded by green space, we are elevated relative to the highway, there are other houses and a large building between us and the highway, and we have an air filter.

Impossible. That’s a lot of rationalization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought 1300 ft from 66. We don't hear highway noise. The danger zone for particulates is 500 feet, elevated up to 1000 ft. Less if you're upwind of the highway. There are other factors at play too. We are surrounded by green space, we are elevated relative to the highway, there are other houses and a large building between us and the highway, and we have an air filter.

Impossible. That’s a lot of rationalization.

Agree, no way you wouldn’t hear it if you’re only 1300 feet away.

[Anonymous]

NO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought 1300 ft from 66. We don't hear highway noise. The danger zone for particulates is 500 feet, elevated up to 1000 ft. Less if you're upwind of the highway. There are other factors at play too. We are surrounded by green space, we are elevated relative to the highway, there are other houses and a large building between us and the highway, and we have an air filter.

Impossible. That’s a lot of rationalization.

Agree, no way you wouldn’t hear it if you’re only 1300 feet away.

We don't hear it on normal days, although we do when the highway is wet.

[Anonymous]

Yes I would buy. You can't hear the noise when you are inside the house. That's all I need to know.
You hear the noise when you open the windows. But who lives in a house with open windows?
You hear the noise when you are outside. And so what? This isn't a bad thing. I actually love it, it makes the neighborhood feels lively.
I grew up in a vibrant city. Extremely quiet suburbs where you can not even hear birds feel like cemeteries to me.

[Anonymous]

OP, read about health effects, esp. on young children if you have any and especially if you plan any!

[Anonymous]

I would not but, I will say, a close friend used to live in a house near 66 where you could hear traffic noise and it wasn’t that bad. In her case there was a street, small stand of trees, bike path, and wall between her home and the highway. Her house fronted the street and when you were in the backyard it was even quieter. We looked at a house in the same neighborhood with the rear facing the bike path and highway and decided against it.

I would not want to hear traffic noise every time I opened my windows.

[Anonymous]

No. Unfortunately, because we saw homes in places like McLean Hamlet that we loved but hearing the drone of the highway is a deal breaker for our family because we spend a lot of time in the backyard.