buying a house on a busy street

amother

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 8:23 pm

we are looking into homes and we found a very nice house - loads of maalos and a very decent price. the house is very much what we are looking for.

The only really big downside is that it is on a very very busy street. not a highway but a busy avenue.

Please give me input on whether you think this is a very big deal. especially for a family with small kids.

There is no noise pollution as the house is set back from the street and it is not busy enough for that.

We obviously will be putting a gate around the entire property. also there is a driveway so its not like kids will be running to the curb. they would be going from a gated property into a car and vice versa. We would also invest in gate entrances that swing shut so we wouldnt have to worry about older kids forgetting to close the gate.

MimiMommy

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 8:27 pm

So you can either wait around for a house on a quieter street, or get this house where it sounds like the biggest problem would be some traffic noise. Which do you want? I'd maybe wait a few more weeks and then take the house.

MimiMommy

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 9:10 pm

Well I know people with little kids on a busy street who don't have any gate; I guess they just don't play out front. I think if you'll have a fence with a gate that has a lock, and a good lock for your front door, and the house has everything else you want, go for it. You'll even get plowed first during blizzards!

saraleah2010

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 9:16 pm

I would never do it. When I was a kid one of the neighbor kids got hit by a car. I'll never forget it. The parents would let the kids play out front (there was a gate) but he got out and was hit. It was relatively low speed but he still spent days in the hospital.

MimiMommy

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 9:21 pm

saraleah2010 wrote:

What? I know somebody who was KILLED from being in a car accident. Don't buy cars.

mfb

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 10:27 pm

saraleah2010 wrote:

And I know a kid that got killed on a relatively quiet street if there are cars driving I don't see the difference.

I grew up on a very busy street and live now on a very busy avenue I don't see it as a chisaron unless it's commercial and you won't have neighbors, my kids actually love sitting by the window there's always what to see.

amother

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 11:28 pm

lk1234 wrote:

also- what about getting in and out of your driveway?

well the way the driveway is set up, you can gate the whole front yard and leave a gate enterence to the driveway. so when you get out of the car you are at the "door" of the gate and can take the children right into the gated area. no need to ever have them hanging around in the driveway.

can toddlers really get out of a good gate?

I dont plan for them to be playing outside by themselves but I do want to have the security that I can sit on a lawn chair without holding on to them every second.

another concern is isolation. we would be kind of cut off from the neighbors across the street because its a busy street. we would lose out on the feeling you get living in a neighborhood.

Do you think that is kind of lonely?

Simple1

Sun, Feb 17 2013, 11:51 pm

I could see your concern but quiet streets have their own safety issues because there is a false sense of security where kids think they can play in the street or run get a ball, whereas kids (who are old enough) know that they should never go into a busy street.

As far as loneliness, are there enough neighbors on that side of the street, or are there any behind, (around the corner, but with access through the backyards)?

Another issue to consider is privacy - not a major deal breaker if the house has enough good points.

tizunabi

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 12:11 am

I grew up on a relatively busy street and none of us are worse off for it. No one on my block had a fence around their front yard, though around the back, where most of us played, some did.

Another question you want to ask yourself is how long are you planning on living in this house? Is this a "for the rest of my life" kind of buy/move? Or is this, "for the next 5-10 years and then we'll find something bigger and better" kind of buy/move? Remember that a property on a busy street is harder to sell so if that is your intention I would think twice.

saw50st8

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 6:33 am

Every house is a compromise. You would need to supervise a lot better in your yard here.

Whether the toddler can open the gate or not depends on the child. But if your child is the type to open the gate, then you probably need to supervise a ton anyway so...

If you get this house, I recommend you make your house a "destination" house. Splurge on a really great swing set. THis way, kids want to come to you and adults like coming with their kids.

saraleah2010

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 8:00 am

To Mimimommy and mommyfrombrooklyn -- the OP asked for input on whether buying a house on a busy street was a big deal.

I shared that I wouldn't do it, based on a traumatic incident from my childhood. I was honest. I don't see why you have to try to minimize my view point in order to get your point across that it wouldn't bother you to live on a busy street.

My point is that my kids are the most important thing in my life, and I would be very concerned (even with a gate) that kids are active and curious, and might get out and into the busy street.

In my adult life, I have chosen homes that are on quiet streets and cul-de-sacs, and when my children play out front, they are always supervised by an adult. My honest viewpoint is: I would NEVER buy a home on a busy street.

mfb

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 8:58 am

saraleah2010 wrote:

Sorry if you felt I was minimizing your view point I just wanted to point out that if you have a kid of an age where he might run into the street than you have to watch them even on a very quiet street since the moment he chooses to run a single car may pass by you don't need twenty cars for an accident to happen ch"v

bookworm10

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 9:51 am

I grew up on a very busy street. My parents were looking for a house for a long time, and found a perfect one... on that block. They anyway were not the type of let us play outside alone and they put up a very nice gate. BH it worked out well and it wouldn't bother me. I also do not let my kids play outside by themselves.. so thats not a concern.

Raisin

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 9:55 am

more of an issue is that playdates and so on will be harder to arrange. You will have to drop off and pick up, and take your kids everywhere.

Cars go much faster on busy streets so it is much more of a safety concern.

suzyq

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 10:12 am

We live on a somewhat busy street and don't find it a problem. However, it would be different if it weren't for 2 things -

1) we have a fenced in back yard - so we don't need to have anyone in the front.

2) (and I think this was the point someone else was trying to make) - our house is a corner lot and our driveway opens to the street that isn't so busy. If our driveway had been on the busy street, we would not have bought the house. It's too difficult to back out of driveways on that street and in fact, one of our neighbors was hit and injured severely backing out of his driveway. That is something to think about.

Reality

Mon, Feb 18 2013, 9:31 pm

I wouldn't buy a house on a busy avenue. The cars go down two way streets much faster than the one way streets. Besides the safety issues, it is harder to make friends on the block when you live on the avenue and not the street. At least it is in Brooklyn, I am not sure what neighborhood you are referring to.

amother

Tue, Feb 19 2013, 12:10 am

op here.

I was thinking of possibly doing a curved driveway. so we drive in one way and out the other. it would cost a few thousand but the convenience is so worth it. The house has enough property and is set far back enough that this should work. we would lose the front yard but the backyard is so huge that I think it would be ok.

Im a kind of nervous though because the previous owners still live in town and bought a house a 10 minute walk away from this house. I asked them why and they said because they wanted to be closer to their shul.

But I wonder what could make a family so so unhappy that they would leave their house before selling and move 3 blocks away.

They are currently paying a morgage on both houses and selling this one for substantially less than their puchase price. It is just very odd.

any thoughts?

tizunabi

Tue, Feb 19 2013, 12:24 am

amother wrote:

But I wonder what could make a family so so unhappy that they would leave their house before selling and move 3 blocks away.

They are currently paying a morgage on both houses and selling this one for substantially less than their puchase price. It is just very odd.

any thoughts?

this is more worrying than being on a busy street. are they getting a bigger, newer/renovated, etc. house out of the move. (moving 3 blocks away is ok if they are upgrading, I know someone who once moved down the block to a bigger house,,,)