We used to live in Vienna near the dulles access road. The house drove me nuts, especially in the rain. I guess it depends on how much you enjoy being outside. We moved to Great Falls for the quiet!

Welcome August - cars are still on the beltway at Wisconsin avenue, but it is silent outside and we are only 1/4 mile inside the beltway!

Anonymous wrote:We are about a mile from I66 and I can hear road noise late at night. We don't hear a thing during the day.

I do think there should be a decibel level limit on cars and motorcycles. Someone else posted earlier that that is all they can hear. I consider loud vehicles as noise pollution and think it's wrong that motorheads have to subject everyone around them to their loud motors.

. I would love to have a noise penalty for motorcycles, cars and trucks. Truly strange that we don't have a noise pollution rule in place for vehicles that are so loud they can be heard five blocks away!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I know, I used to live in a rental near traffic, and it was bad sometimes (especially in winter, when there was fewer trees and bloom, but I suppose I wasn't outside much in winter, anyway). Rentals are in bad spots for a reason - they are considered temporary housing.

What the hell are you talking about? This is absurd. Then why are there condos and rowhouses right next door if rentals are in "bad spots for a reason."

What the hell are you talking about? Yours is the only "right" opinion? Your life must be difficult day to day. Yes, I have seen many, many rentals that are "louder" than SFHs - this should not be very surprising, if you own many properties and are familiar with how structures are built (not just familiar with criticizing new builds). So? Guess you don't like being wrong. Too bad for you.

Anonymous wrote:
I know, I used to live in a rental near traffic, and it was bad sometimes (especially in winter, when there was fewer trees and bloom, but I suppose I wasn't outside much in winter, anyway). Rentals are in bad spots for a reason - they are considered temporary housing.

What the hell are you talking about? This is absurd. Then why are there condos and rowhouses right next door if rentals are in "bad spots for a reason."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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!

My first solo apartment in DC was right, RIGHT next to 395 in SW. I used to hear the traffic, especially the semis bouncing, every day, and it was really bad during AM rush. Took me a while to get used to this but I eventually did. I would NOT buy a condo or any piece of property that was close enough to hear traffic like this.

I know, I used to live in a rental near traffic, and it was bad sometimes (especially in winter, when there was fewer trees and bloom, but I suppose I wasn't outside much in winter, anyway). Rentals are in bad spots for a reason - they are considered temporary housing.

OTOH, I know many people who own really nice houses near "major roads", and they don't hear a thing - it could be for several reasons: placement of the house, placement of many different barriers, really nice houses are constructed differently than apartment buildings, and many different reasons. Which is why we are telling OP to go to the house and see for herself - if the situation really exists at all. After all, this topic is brought up often enough, that people should know they only can tell IRL, not from a board.

Anonymous wrote: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!

My first solo apartment in DC was right, RIGHT next to 395 in SW. I used to hear the traffic, especially the semis bouncing, every day, and it was really bad during AM rush. Took me a while to get used to this but I eventually did. I would NOT buy a condo or any piece of property that was close enough to hear traffic like this.

We live near a major highway and can't hear the noise with the windows closed (unless there's an especially loud motorcycle or sports car). When we're outside, the air conditioning drowns out street noise, otherwise it sounds like white noise.

Hi we live in North Chevy Chase and have complete silence from 495 in the summers except for 7-9am...truly silent. Usually the birds are louder.

Anonymous wrote:I used to live in the Hamlet near the toll road, and I never really heard the noise. As for pollution, I would worry less about a highway that has a sound barrier and buffered by trees than I would a regular busy road that goes right by a house (with no barriers).

I used to live in a neighborhood that was about six blocks from train tracks. I guess my brain eventually tuned out the train whistles, because I never heard them.

I now live in Great Falls. I love it, but it's SO QUIET that I have to turn on a fan for background noise when I sleep! Ha!

+1

It depends on many factors - not just trees and sound wall. Each house is truly different.

OP, is there a back deck? Can you go out there and see for yourself? You will get a million different answers, and none of them might actually help you, in your particular situation. KWIM?

I used to live in the Hamlet near the toll road, and I never really heard the noise. As for pollution, I would worry less about a highway that has a sound barrier and buffered by trees than I would a regular busy road that goes right by a house (with no barriers).

I used to live in a neighborhood that was about six blocks from train tracks. I guess my brain eventually tuned out the train whistles, because I never heard them.

I now live in Great Falls. I love it, but it's SO QUIET that I have to turn on a fan for background noise when I sleep! Ha!

We live in Kensington area and have are probably 1/2 mile away from beltway and have mostly trees and Beach Drive/Rock Creek Park between us it. Have lived here more than 10 years and NO - you do not get used to it. There are some mornings that I open the door and it seems like its a wall of sound. Yes - sometimes rain makes it louder but I disagree that trees do much to dissipate the sound (and if you google it it will say that there's maybe a physiological 'fake' if you can't see the road but trees just aren't solid enough to block sound. I guess some people do get over it. Friends in North Chevy Chase live right behind one of the "Sound Barriers": the sound there is truly awful but I know that they actually use their deck. I am in their front yard sometimes and if we are more than 5' apart - you really can;t hear each other sometimes. FWIW - these people are also putting their house back on the market for third time in hopes of selling. House is totally cute, well maintained but not selling - despite lowering price each time.

Anonymous wrote:Poor resale value. I saw one that was purchased for less than comps, but they sold it for even less, when the market overall had gone up.

Really? Where? I've never seen this - unless it was an old house.

Poor resale value. I saw one that was purchased for less than comps, but they sold it for even less, when the market overall had gone up.