let paranoia reign. Do you think people who live in cities have lower life expectancy? How about people who work outside such as gas station attendants? The only concern with living near a busy road or highway is the noise. It makes people feel good for not living near highways, etc. then they need to keep telling themselves about that. And....no we don't living near a busy road but I would not hesitate to purchase if other things like quality of home, schools, yard, neighborhood were acceptable.

Not a major highway like the Beltway, but I live on a 4-lane road. Can't comment on health implications as we are all fine, but if the question is about noise -- the first night in the house I heard it all night long, and the second night I didn't hear it at all. If an emergency vehicle goes by in the middle of the night, I may or may not hear it. My house is older so the thick walls may help cut down on the noise. I actually prefer some white noise now and if it's too quiet I require a sound machine.

Anonymous wrote:I know many, many friends who live "near" (not really) a major highway - because that is where the nice houses with big lots are. They enjoy it, and have for many years. There is a poster who keeps posting about this "topic", but I don't understand why, other than the usual alarmist BS.

OP, my friends that live "near" a major highway are outside ALL of the time - most have pools. I wouldn't listen to the alarmists (who probably can't afford those houses, BTW).

Why are you putting quote marks around the word near? Why do you assume people can't afford houses close to a major highway? Your friends are buying them because they are cheaper than comparable homes away from major highways. Nobody is paying a premium to be close to the noise and emissions. If your friends can't afford a better location and are incapable of living in a healthy house they can afford, that's on them. But don't suggest that the rest of us secretly covet their horrible houses but can't afford them.

PP, how do you know about air quality, is there a test kit? I am interested b/c we live close to major roads. Thanks

We live about four streets away from 495 and at times it is silent- weird. Tree cover helps muffle noise. The a-holes with loud motorcycles and cars do standout at times. No air quality issues though.

Anonymous wrote:Used to live in Bethesda in a neighborhood about a 1/2 mile from the Beltway. When outside, we could always hear the distant "white noise" of the road. No individual cars or even horns honking; instead, just the constant, distant white noise. Didn't bother us, but it did highlight it when we'd go on vacation to someplace quiet. Now we live somewhat close to National Airport and, let me tell you, that can be worse.

+1

No kidding.

We used to live in a house backing the Beltway. The sound barrier helped a lot...honestly it was much louder when it rained. That said, we were not outside much, the backyard wasn't awful but was not somewhere we wanted to spend a lot of time. It was a lovely house, much bigger than we could have afforded otherwise and we enjoyed living there while we did.

Anonymous wrote:I know many, many friends who live "near" (not really) a major highway - because that is where the nice houses with big lots are. They enjoy it, and have for many years. There is a poster who keeps posting about this "topic", but I don't understand why, other than the usual alarmist BS.

OP, my friends that live "near" a major highway are outside ALL of the time - most have pools. I wouldn't listen to the alarmists (who probably can't afford those houses, BTW).

I'm not the poster you are talking about, but my impression from reading these threads is that there is one poster who constantly tries to downplay this issue with the same arguments you make here.

Anonymous wrote:I know many, many friends who live "near" (not really) a major highway - because that is where the nice houses with big lots are. They enjoy it, and have for many years. There is a poster who keeps posting about this "topic", but I don't understand why, other than the usual alarmist BS.

OP, my friends that live "near" a major highway are outside ALL of the time - most have pools. I wouldn't listen to the alarmists (who probably can't afford those houses, BTW).

OP is talking about a house directly backing to the Beltway. That's not where the nice, big, expensive houses are that you think the "alarmists" can't afford.

OP, I would be concerned about noise and especially pollution. (And no, I haven't posted about this before.) You have to decide your own comfort level with this, but yes, it is a valid concern and therefore affects resale value.

Used to live in Bethesda in a neighborhood about a 1/2 mile from the Beltway. When outside, we could always hear the distant "white noise" of the road. No individual cars or even horns honking; instead, just the constant, distant white noise. Didn't bother us, but it did highlight it when we'd go on vacation to someplace quiet. Now we live somewhat close to National Airport and, let me tell you, that can be worse.

I know many, many friends who live "near" (not really) a major highway - because that is where the nice houses with big lots are. They enjoy it, and have for many years. There is a poster who keeps posting about this "topic", but I don't understand why, other than the usual alarmist BS.

OP, my friends that live "near" a major highway are outside ALL of the time - most have pools. I wouldn't listen to the alarmists (who probably can't afford those houses, BTW).

Our apartment is right next to 395. When we're inside, we can't hear any road noise. When we're outside, we hear it but it just doesn't bother us. That said, since it's an apartment, we don't have a yard to hang out in, just our balcony.

I'd be more concerned about health impact from emissions. I wouldn't live closer than 500ft from a major roadway.

When we were house hunting, we found a great house with a big yard, but the road noise was awful. I didn't see myself ever using the yard because of that. Even if you do get used to the noise (and people do), keep in mind the health effects of the road noise.

If you live close enough to a major highway, like the beltway, and constantly hear the hum (white noise) of cars, do you get used to it? How much does it hurt the value of the home? Looking at a house that backs to the beltway and wondering if you ever go numb to the noise. FWIW, can't hear any noise when inside the house!