Noise from turnpike
 

Goldwingnut pondered the question on his recent video of how is the noise down in the linden,monarch grove area? Any of y'all who live close to the turnpike can give your input would be great. I have seen some great house prices along the streets that back up to the turnpike but wonder if it's worth the deal. Thanks for any input.

We live in Osceola Hills but we often go to Linden, Monarch Grove, and Marsh Bend to enjoy the beautiful walking trails. When the wind is blowing toward the southwest, the noise from the turnpike is pretty bad in all three areas..

In our neighborhood, the noise from Route 44 is also bad when the wind is blowing toward the north. However, most of the time, we do not even notice the noise. Maybe the people living in Linden, MG, and MB feel the same way.

Turnpike noise level
 

I am not a Village resident...hopefully in a few years. I am here in The Villages for a visit. A few days ago I went to an open house for a home in Monarch Grove on Hickey Way. Hickey Way runs parallel/backs up to the turnpike. When I got out of the car, I could hear the traffic from the turnpike quite well. Inside the home with the A/C on, the noise was not bad. I went out into the lanai, which is in the rear of the home. I could see the tops of the semi trucks from the turnpike. The noise on the lanai from the turnpike was pretty bad.

I commented on the turnpike noise to the sales rep. from The Villages. She replied the homes on this street are priced accordingly because of the turnpike noise.

So if you don't plan on using your lanai, these houses could be a good deal. If I was seriously looking to buy now, the turnpike noise would be a deal breaker for me as I love sitting on the lanai in the morning and evening.

if you are considering a home close to the turnpike, I would go to an open house for a home close to the turnpike to judge for yourself. Stand in the yard for a few minutes, or sit in your car with the windows rolled down when you are parked next to the house.

Would you buy a house that was close to train tracks, an airport--I don't think so--the noise on the tpk is constant--it will get into your head--

We moved into Carla Villas in McClure about 2 weeks ago. One of the contributing factors in picking here instead of Taylor Villas was the Turnpike is so much closer there. We did not hear the turnpike inside the house at Taylor Villa, but could hear it outside in the yard. At Carla Villa in McClure We have not heard the Turnpike outside - yet. We can still hear construction, but that will be o ver soon. Inside the house there is no noise except the frequent neighbors yards being mowed. I will be glad when the yard maintenance people all convert to electric! :)

Having grown up on Air Force bases and listening to jet fighters take off at all hours and then living near train tracks a substantial part of my adult life it’s hard for me to objectively consider the turnpike noise level either loud or noticeable. My mental filters kick in quickly with background noise to allow me to ignore it. That’s why I asked the question in the video.

I’ve sat on the lanai at night in the summer and heard the trains roll through in Wildwood and found the sound almost comforting. Hearing a low flying plane going overhead is an intoxicating sound to my strangely formed mind. I guess I’ve a few wires crossed.

We are in Lynnhaven and can hear the train's whistle/horn when it is passing though. It is about 1 mile away. I love the sound and don't find it distracting. Now that we are here close to 3 years, I have become used to/unaware of it and sometimes even miss it. But it is not a constant noise like highway traffic -- only occasionally. I think some people are more sensitive to any noise than others and feel that a lot of the advice given in prior posts to be good.

Now about the gas cutting -- both ours and the neighbors -- I find that very distracting when sitting on the lanai but fortunately it is no more than 1-2 times per week and only lasts a couple of hours.

I find traffic drone noise to be very fatiguing and irritating. Hubby feels as I do. We would not ever consider living near a major roadway with constant traffic noise created from high speed vehicular traffic. There is no deal on this planet that would entice me to live near the Turnpike.

I don't post much but wanted to weigh in on this because we were looking at homes in Monarch Grove about 2 weeks ago. To be honest, the 1st time we went to look at the houses I didn't immediately notice the turnpike noise, most likely because we were inside the house most of the time. However, when we went back with the sole intention of gauging the turnpike noise you can definitely hear it if you're listening for it. We were looking at a house that was very close to the Swallowtail pool so I was surprised I could still hear the noise with so many rows of houses between the house we were looking at and the turnpike. It's a really nice area and you definitely don't hear the turnpike noise when you're in your house, but, if you love sitting in your lanai the noise might get old. NOTE: Our realtor said (or maybe my wife, can't remember) that as the foliage matures in the area the noise should be reduced.

My wife would be ecstatic if I cut the gas noise on the lanai, but I insist it's her cooking that causes it in the first place!!

I just want to point out that foliage doesn't do much to reduce noise. Noise is air pressure, and the only thing that really helps to block it is a solid, dense wall, like the kind they construct up north to reduce highway noise for houses adjacent to the highway.

Grew up in a house one street away from railroad, in flightline of small airport and 1/4 mile from active fire station. Noise became a background comfort. Like having two rambunctious kids in the house and it suddenly goes quiet, you know there is a problem.

How much is the reduction in the houses near The Pike? Is it Chicken Feed or Substantial? Remember there is a buyer for every Home!

I would be more concerned about what is in the trucks passing thru The Villages Zone, you know, the cargo!

Buyers Remorse is a terrible thing. If a buyer is OK with the noise then who has the right to question their decision? NoBody. No bashing intended by me. The beauty of

the entire area overcomes the slight risk. I'd put my $$$Money$$$ down over there in a heartbeat!

I like peace and quiet so would not live in any of those areas including parts of Marsh Bend. However, there are many people that highway noise does not bother and for those, there are some excellent homes at what I would call bargain prices. I would bet that they all get sold, a lot of them already have been sold.

That's it in a nutshell...………………..

Most Villagers have guests from time to time. I wouldn’t want to spend $$$$$$ for a real nice home and my guests be upset for the few days we were trying to visit. On the other hand, guest might be more inclined to leave after a couple of nights and that could suit others on this forum. Maybe joking.

Just saying it comes down to personal choice of whether to save a few dollars on the initial purchase and lose an equal amount if and when you should sell. :popcorn:

Some years back I went home to the family farm for a visit. As I laid in bed the first night something felt different, took a while to figure out what it was. There was no noise. The farm is miles out of the nearest town, there are no airplane routes overhead and the farm house is quite a distance off the road which has next to no traffic. When I returned home I really noticed the noise in our neighborhood but after a short time it was like before, I didn't even hear it.

Yard maintenance + electric? Good luck, they will remove the baffles in the muffler’s gas equipment before that happens. The blowers with the muffler baffles removed are like no mufflers at all. I afraid it get worse before better?

Whenever I attend an open house and they have music playing, I ask the agent to please turn it off. I think they sometimes use music to mask traffic or other noise issues with the house.

Amen.

We lived the majority of our lives in Baltimore and had a home on a main thoroughfare. We were on a service road and were off the main road by maybe 200 feet. The road was a 24/7 active street. When we moved to a country atmosphere we had a hard time sleeping as it was too dark and too quiet. We really got used to the noise and the life that the city offered. We may be strange, or not the norm, but we would not have a problem being near more activity and life sounds.

:agree:

LOL - I didn't notice -- of all the typos one could make. HaHa -- it's so funny that I'm not even going to go back to correct it.

Thanks for pointing it out though. A good laugh for my day.

OP, since you didn't ask whether or not we would buy in that area or if/how traffic noise bothers us, personally, I'll just try to respond to your actual question. As others have said, similarly to living near pickleball courts or neighborhood pools, you really don't hear the noise when you are inside the homes, especially the block and stucco models. They did a nice job of placing an elevated berm between the homes and the turnpike and it does do a good job of cutting down on the noise, but it does not eliminate it. When you are outside the homes, you will hear the traffic noise. Fortunately, it's not an area where there would be a lot of horn honking or trucks "jake-braking" but it is a constant flow of vehicles wooshing buy at 70+ mph. I could see it being something that some might accept and get used to, but that doesn't mean you can't hear it.

Marsh Bend being west of the roadway brings me hope that the wind generally blows west to east, helping to alleviate the sound somewhat. In PA, we live west of rt. 222 4 or so blocks, and the sound level is usually dull background, but when the wind shifts, it's noticeable for a minute or two, then it blends in. I do believe we got more house for the money by it being closer to the turnpike.

We back up to Odell Circle. It’s a busy street with golf carts. From 7a to 6 p the noise from the car s never consistent but, the UPS FEDEx trucks are annoying. We are usually gone during that time. We do not have our lanai enclosed. After 6 it’s peaceful, no kissing lanai, birds chirping from the pond across the street, and a great view.

We went to MB with a lunch and sat for better than an hour listening to the drone of traffic. We noticed the sound, but was not annoying. Difference is the sound is 24/7, compared to our home.
We love our home, but want to now put in a pool. South maybe where we go. I didn’t find the home prices that much difference from homes farther away.

I wasn't going to respond, but I will say that people who have lived next to noisy streets or freeways have the right to respond (and I did)--but I agree that those never having done that are not answering the OP with anything helpful.

I grew up living probably 600 yards from the Parkway East in Pittsburgh, with Union Switch & Signal a mile away down the parkway (they made railroad switches). Union Switch & Signal would make a shuddering sound a few times a night. Trucks would occasionally downshift. My bedroom was closest to the noise. I loved it. I'm loving just remembering it now. It was comforting to hear that muffled shudder if I was awake in the middle of the night. The noise was never a problem, and at night there was little traffic.

In TV we back up to St. Charles, but with a wall. The traffic noise doesn't bother me, and it's generally in the morning and at dinner time. I prefer the privacy of the wall and the fact that there is no other house behind us to not having a busy street on the other side. I love to look up and see blue sky rather than roofs.

I agree with the person who suggested sitting outside a house by the freeway to hear it all. But you may just get used to it.

That's my take.

I too like to hear the trains but after living here for almost 10 years I don't even hear them unless there is a strong westerly wind. Your brain filters out these sounds that are everyday.

Our old home was near an interstate and quite frankly you really begin to tune it out in short order. The noise is mostly a continuous drone and better than living on a corner near a 4-way intersection where trucks start and stop. That said, I probably wouldn't intentionally buy right near the interstate as we enjoy sitting outside and watching TV and movies in our lanai.

Adding a white noise source like a waterfall/water feature or even a speaker playing water/surf sounds can help mask noise if sensitive.

I noticed highway traffic noise north of the Turnpike staying at the Alden villas near Brownwood during my Lifestyles visit.

Having just purchased a home that is 8 houses down the street from the turnpike going by, let me give you my impression from the past 2 weeks here...

In the house you do not notice the sounds at all

Outside the house in the yard or sitting on the Lanai, you hear the wind from the vehicles going by more so than the engines or exhaust noises...

You get used to it and don’t really notice it. I believe some low music playing or the eventual noises as the neighborhood fills up will help drown out most of the background road noise

Again our house does not directly back up to the berm but we are on a perpendicular street from the berm and only about 8 houses away

I did come and sit in the Lanai for a half an hour before we signed the papers. It was a Monday morning at 8 am and the slight noise was not a deal breaker for us, so here we are...

Love and respect,

Spoiler

Enjoyed GWN flyovers the past year so much that we bought a remaining Linden Lot last month (easily spotted and stilled, easy decision-thanks GWN) before we had a chance to get here this week finally (from Texas). Wife and I are avid runners/walkers so already scouted Monarch Grove and the noise is unnoticeable to us. So excited to get here next year after we retire. Amazing that we have to wait until maybe January to design & begin building, oh well.

That is funny. The smell probably is not all that pleasant either.

We live in Lynnhaven and have been here since June 2005 and have gotten used to the train sounds.

The turnpike though would be another matter and would not be all that attractive for a place to call home.

What about the prison lights Pa system or the dust and noise and blasting from the nearby mine ?

Come to Spanish Springs, no noise.:bigbow:

:confused: I'm confused. The people that live there say the lights, PA, and mine are not issues at all. There is dust with all construction...... like say when they built St. James. Anyone remember the LARGE pile dirt where Sand Hill Golf Course is.

One other question..... why do some people hate the new area? I didn't say dislike - HATE!

This is a quote from the OP....." I have seen some great house prices along the streets that back up to the turnpike but wonder if it's worth the deal."

Every one of the posters claiming they would not want to live near constant traffic noise has answered the OP's concern. If a person would not want to live near traffic noise, the answer to the OP's concern is simply "NO, it is not a good deal." I guess you have to read between the lines to realize that. A person who finds constant drone of traffic noise to be offensive, they would not think a discount on a home is a good deal. You have to live with the consequences afterward and that discount doesn't mean a hill of beans.

I've seen it time and time again on HGTV many prospective home buyers walk away from a lovely home because of traffic noise. As they say in real estate........Location, location, location!

We have had some very similar experiences.

You evidently don't live here. I have been here nearly 2-1/2 years and have never heard the prison PA system nor have I seen their lights, there are a lot of acres of trees between here and there, there is no dust or noise from the mining, that is down on 470. When are you bashers going to realize that this area is hot and they are selling as fast as they can build, many of the buyers are moving down here from villages north of 44, nothing you say is going to slow it down or deter people from buying.

I agree. I cannot imagine that a person, who doesn't want to live with traffic noise all the time, would buy a house just because the price is discounted.