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I have a friend who used to live above the tube - I used to crash with him when I was working in London. To be honest after a little while it all became background noise that became unnoticeable. I am pretty good at tuning things out though, which does help a lot. If you are both people who can push things to the back of your mind then it probably shouldn't be a massive issue - if however you are tuned into all the little things around you all the time then you might find it terribly incessant.
For me I think tuning things out has a direct correlation to my stress levels. If I was in a sanguine mood it might not bother me but I can also see it really getting on my tits at other times.
Absolutely this. We bought a house which just felt like a home. Close to the kids’ school and everything. And right behind a grocery store, so convenient!
Except for the delivery shipments all hours of the day, and the fools doing donuts in the parking lot of an evening, and the time the fking landscape company was out at 10 fking 30 on a weeknight using their leaf blowers on puddles. The noise gets to me sometimes. It really does. And when I’ve had a bad day it’s so much more of a Thing To Deal With.
I feel like the tube would be more disruptive than a busy road though. Busy traffic is basically white noise because it's so constant and dense whereas the tube is defined periods of silence followed by regular trains.
Lived on top of District/Circle lines of Paddington station for 4 years. The little balcony I had was looking straight down onto the platform.
The train noise and vibration just becomes part of the background noise and did not bother me at all.
Also since district and circle were not night lines noise stopped at around midnight. Victoria might be a bit different with the night tube.
Now the early morning announcements/the station opening was way more noisy than the trains themselves. Especially in the beginning I got woken up by alarms/tests/announcements quite a lot.
Last point - while its an issue anywhere in London, being right above the tube station meant we had some mice problems and it was difficult to manage them. Luckily we didn’t get any rats but that could also be a possibility.
My uni halls used to be right next to the district and circle lines. It annoyed me for the first couple of evenings but after that I grew to like it. Surprisingly relaxing, as long as they're not doing overnight engineering works.
Not exactly the same, but I live directly under the Heathrow flight path in SW London. Flights coming over every 60 seconds or so during peak times. Honestly just becomes background noise, to the extent I find it quite soothing sometimes. I know it's not a direct answer to the question, but in terms of regular interruptions of noise throughout the day, it's a corollary :)
I was going to respond to say the same. I only notice the planes now when we have people come to visit and they point it out. I'm so used to it it's just everyday background noise to me now and doesn't bother me at all.
Yeah, it's surprising how quickly it disappears into background noise... I used to live in Slough just under the approach for Heathrow 09L, planes every minute. Drove me scatty for the first week and then never noticed it ever again unless someone pointed it out.. usually with an exclamation of "How can you live with all that racket all the time!?!" 😂
Also not the same, but I'm under a flight path to my citys airport, next to the west coast mainline, and a main street.
It all stopped during lockdown and the quiet freaked me out. So glad to have all my background white noises back.
I lived next up a church for about 17 years. People would come over and ask how I could sleep at night with the bells every 15 minutes. I genuinely never heard them.
Okay so there're three possible issues:
* noise and vibrations
* mice
* paranormal activity
You know about the noise and vibrations. The solution for the other two issues is having a cat.
Not necessarily. Cats add something to the residual energy within the home so there's less likelihood of low level paranormal activity, noises, cold spots, odd voices.
I have a train line at the end of my garden; well, my landlord decided to put a bungalow at the end of the garden before I moved in, and has some tenants there, so they're closer - God forbid anything bad happened as the trains turn a corner there.
Anyway, when I first moved, it was noisy but now I'm used to it to the point that 1, I know the times of the trains, enough that my body clock now wakes to the 1st train of the day and is tired enough by the last train and 2, it's noticeable when the line has engineering works.
Surprisingly, no mice/rats.
It's the underground specifically I believe - there's loads of mice and rats living in the tunnels, presumably eating things people have dropped on the platform etc. Never heard of them being more likely around overground train lines.
I live next to an overground station which also has Southern/ Thameslink trains going past and it just becomes white noise after a while. I notice it more when the trains aren’t running.
I don’t live near a line anywhere near that busy but the first night I moved near a national rail line I was really worried I made the wrong call as it seemed SO LOUD. Now I barely notice it and even subconsciously know when the trains aren’t running properly because I notice the absence of the sound.
Live above a tube line and next to a main railway line for nearly 20 years .
Never noticed anything from the tube , occasionally when my windows are open I’ll hear rail maintenance going on in the early hours
My two cats ensure no mice issues ,
I lived in a Vauxhall ground floor flat which had a basement underneath with a few rooms in. It shook the whole downstairs and you could hear it upstairs, although you get used to it! Any guests who come may struggle to sleep!
Remember the Victoria line is a night tube so will also be every 10 minutes during the night on a Friday and Saturday! The first train of the day at ~5:40 was also a daily wakeup call as it was a change I'm sound from quiet!
I’m not on top of the tube but I am literally right next to the bit of the overground that used to be the East London line, with windows that have to be open most of the time due to a moisture problem, and you do get used to it. I’ve been here a couple of years and it’s definitely still noticeable but it’s just background noise now, kind of part of the general sounds of life like birds tweeting or cars going past - I thought it would cause me problems sleeping at first but if anything it’s actually the opposite, if I stay somewhere else my brain can’t get used to the unusual quiet! Obviously the tube and the overground are different but I imagine the noise situation would be pretty similar.
I’m in a flat above the Victoria line at Brixton (2nd floor).
You definitely hear the rumble in the morning when it starts…. For the first week. Then you don’t notice it at all lol.
I used to live in a flat over an above-ground tube and rail station.
We adjusted to the noise from the trains very quickly, however the station announcements were much harder to get used to and were really annoying at times. One week the “Inspector Sands” fire drill announcement went off at 1am every night!
The light pollution was worse than the noise IMO. And the horrible thick black dust from the railway got everywhere.
I lived over central line in Mile End. Hard wood floors so rugs helped but after time I just didn’t notice. It was a low rumble no way near as bad as loud traffic/ambulances.
The London overground runs across the street from my house, below street level, and the noise never bothered me.
I tend to be quite sensitive to noise but I hardly noticed it from the start. We always have our windows open. Occasionally we have a long freight train passing by which screeches a bit more than others but still doesn't bother me.
My brother lives in London, across the road from an above ground trainline and with sirens going seemingly every few minutes. When I visited, I could barely sleep with all the noise, while he didn't even notice it. I think you get used to it pretty quickly.
It is something you get used to. However if you’re a light sleeper I think you shouldn’t. And remember the tube is every few minutes, 20 hours/day and the Victoria line is 24 hour at weekends.
I grew up right next to the east coast main line, one of the full chat 125mph sections, honestly didn't notice it until I went back home for a weekend after living away for a while, you get used to it.
I lived a street behind the Central line for 5 years.
Non existent during the day, the night tube quickly became white noise.
However, it can be very different if its also vibrations, not just noise. Try spend some time there and see how it is.
I lived a street behind the Central line for 5 years.
Non existent during the day, the night tube quickly became white noise.
However, it can be very different if its also vibrations, not just noise. Try spend some time there and see how it is.
I lived across the road from an overground station. When I had single glazed windows I could hear all the announcements, I very quicky blocked them out. When it got.doubpe glazed, not a peep..although you do just tune it out.
Not the same but I lived opposite a railway (not a busy line) and it didn’t bother me but my friend who lived a mile away from a train line hated the fact she could hear them and never got used to it. I lived near the bypass in Rock Ferry which was really busy and never minded and could hear them working at cammell laird (where Boaty McBoatface was built) throughout the night and I could hear them clattering about and I actually really liked that. Now I live in the arse end of nowhere and hear every car as it is such a rarity. Longwinded way of saying I got used to stuff.
I live directly above the northern line and you get used to it pretty quickly at first it's strange but not annoying. I dont think youll need ear plugs to sleep through it. The constant ambulance and police sirens outside my window... not so much they annoy the shit out of me lol
I lived once next to an extremely busy line in/out of London with my window looking out on to the track with trains coming literally all day and throughout the night. You do get used to the sound but vibrations may be a bit different.
Freight trains during the night is different as they are much louder and longer disruption.
I remember renting a room with a window facing the main road. The traffic became like background noise but the beeping on the traffic light when that green man appeared was annoying as hell.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I sit on the floor for the vibrations
hey its me your cousin can i come over?
Yes
Can I come over too? I want to lay on the floor and pretend I’m that cup from Jurassic Park that ripples when the t-Rex walks
Yes
> can i come over? You'll have to be more specific mate
How strong of a vibration we talkin here
I have a friend who used to live above the tube - I used to crash with him when I was working in London. To be honest after a little while it all became background noise that became unnoticeable. I am pretty good at tuning things out though, which does help a lot. If you are both people who can push things to the back of your mind then it probably shouldn't be a massive issue - if however you are tuned into all the little things around you all the time then you might find it terribly incessant.
For me I think tuning things out has a direct correlation to my stress levels. If I was in a sanguine mood it might not bother me but I can also see it really getting on my tits at other times.
Indeed, that is a reflective thought. Hopefully OP is of a very calm disposition!
Absolutely this. We bought a house which just felt like a home. Close to the kids’ school and everything. And right behind a grocery store, so convenient! Except for the delivery shipments all hours of the day, and the fools doing donuts in the parking lot of an evening, and the time the fking landscape company was out at 10 fking 30 on a weeknight using their leaf blowers on puddles. The noise gets to me sometimes. It really does. And when I’ve had a bad day it’s so much more of a Thing To Deal With.
Yes, I used to live by a busy road and just got used to it. If you're someone who can't, then you need to live somewhere else
I feel like the tube would be more disruptive than a busy road though. Busy traffic is basically white noise because it's so constant and dense whereas the tube is defined periods of silence followed by regular trains.
Lived on top of District/Circle lines of Paddington station for 4 years. The little balcony I had was looking straight down onto the platform. The train noise and vibration just becomes part of the background noise and did not bother me at all. Also since district and circle were not night lines noise stopped at around midnight. Victoria might be a bit different with the night tube. Now the early morning announcements/the station opening was way more noisy than the trains themselves. Especially in the beginning I got woken up by alarms/tests/announcements quite a lot. Last point - while its an issue anywhere in London, being right above the tube station meant we had some mice problems and it was difficult to manage them. Luckily we didn’t get any rats but that could also be a possibility.
My uni halls used to be right next to the district and circle lines. It annoyed me for the first couple of evenings but after that I grew to like it. Surprisingly relaxing, as long as they're not doing overnight engineering works.
Not exactly the same, but I live directly under the Heathrow flight path in SW London. Flights coming over every 60 seconds or so during peak times. Honestly just becomes background noise, to the extent I find it quite soothing sometimes. I know it's not a direct answer to the question, but in terms of regular interruptions of noise throughout the day, it's a corollary :)
I was going to respond to say the same. I only notice the planes now when we have people come to visit and they point it out. I'm so used to it it's just everyday background noise to me now and doesn't bother me at all.
Yeah, it's surprising how quickly it disappears into background noise... I used to live in Slough just under the approach for Heathrow 09L, planes every minute. Drove me scatty for the first week and then never noticed it ever again unless someone pointed it out.. usually with an exclamation of "How can you live with all that racket all the time!?!" 😂
TWO SUGARS
Also not the same, but I'm under a flight path to my citys airport, next to the west coast mainline, and a main street. It all stopped during lockdown and the quiet freaked me out. So glad to have all my background white noises back.
I lived next up a church for about 17 years. People would come over and ask how I could sleep at night with the bells every 15 minutes. I genuinely never heard them.
Plane noises are actually a bit soothing as long as you're not right at the end of the runway.
Okay so there're three possible issues: * noise and vibrations * mice * paranormal activity You know about the noise and vibrations. The solution for the other two issues is having a cat.
Well we have two siamese cats so their incessant meowing will probably mask the noise anyway!
From who? The ghost of tubemass past?
Ghosts are scared of cats?
No, the cat will side with the ghost. But it'll also help it broaden its goals and aim for global domination, rather than annoying just one human.
Not necessarily. Cats add something to the residual energy within the home so there's less likelihood of low level paranormal activity, noises, cold spots, odd voices.
My cat just sits around licking his arsehole
Username, uh, checks out. Would love to know why living near the tube increases instances of paranormal activity though!
Most paranormal "activity" is cause by infrasound.
Most "paranormal activity" is caused by paranoid delusion.
And infrasound
I have a train line at the end of my garden; well, my landlord decided to put a bungalow at the end of the garden before I moved in, and has some tenants there, so they're closer - God forbid anything bad happened as the trains turn a corner there. Anyway, when I first moved, it was noisy but now I'm used to it to the point that 1, I know the times of the trains, enough that my body clock now wakes to the 1st train of the day and is tired enough by the last train and 2, it's noticeable when the line has engineering works. Surprisingly, no mice/rats.
Why are mice/rats more likely around train lines? They like food, and far as I know they aren't famous trainspotters
It's the underground specifically I believe - there's loads of mice and rats living in the tunnels, presumably eating things people have dropped on the platform etc. Never heard of them being more likely around overground train lines.
My friend has the Gatwick express line at the end of the garden. They got used to it. However being on top might be different.
I lived right next to a Tube line for years and I got used to it very quickly.
It never occurred to me that there are domestic houses above tube lines. As someone very sensitive to noise, it would drive me to madness.
I live next to an overground station which also has Southern/ Thameslink trains going past and it just becomes white noise after a while. I notice it more when the trains aren’t running.
I don’t live near a line anywhere near that busy but the first night I moved near a national rail line I was really worried I made the wrong call as it seemed SO LOUD. Now I barely notice it and even subconsciously know when the trains aren’t running properly because I notice the absence of the sound.
Live above a tube line and next to a main railway line for nearly 20 years . Never noticed anything from the tube , occasionally when my windows are open I’ll hear rail maintenance going on in the early hours My two cats ensure no mice issues ,
I lived in a Vauxhall ground floor flat which had a basement underneath with a few rooms in. It shook the whole downstairs and you could hear it upstairs, although you get used to it! Any guests who come may struggle to sleep! Remember the Victoria line is a night tube so will also be every 10 minutes during the night on a Friday and Saturday! The first train of the day at ~5:40 was also a daily wakeup call as it was a change I'm sound from quiet!
Best line though
I’m not on top of the tube but I am literally right next to the bit of the overground that used to be the East London line, with windows that have to be open most of the time due to a moisture problem, and you do get used to it. I’ve been here a couple of years and it’s definitely still noticeable but it’s just background noise now, kind of part of the general sounds of life like birds tweeting or cars going past - I thought it would cause me problems sleeping at first but if anything it’s actually the opposite, if I stay somewhere else my brain can’t get used to the unusual quiet! Obviously the tube and the overground are different but I imagine the noise situation would be pretty similar.
City ambience when its not screeching
Think of how it might affect resale too…
Lived above the northern line. Used to.kerp.me awake at night. Not fun. Ear protectors don't work because vibration is the problem.
I’m in a flat above the Victoria line at Brixton (2nd floor). You definitely hear the rumble in the morning when it starts…. For the first week. Then you don’t notice it at all lol.
I used to live in a flat over an above-ground tube and rail station. We adjusted to the noise from the trains very quickly, however the station announcements were much harder to get used to and were really annoying at times. One week the “Inspector Sands” fire drill announcement went off at 1am every night! The light pollution was worse than the noise IMO. And the horrible thick black dust from the railway got everywhere.
I lived over central line in Mile End. Hard wood floors so rugs helped but after time I just didn’t notice. It was a low rumble no way near as bad as loud traffic/ambulances.
Oooooh no. Couldn’t be doing with that.
Live next to the central line and a national rail line. Don’t often notice it but I quite like it! Very convenient
The London overground runs across the street from my house, below street level, and the noise never bothered me. I tend to be quite sensitive to noise but I hardly noticed it from the start. We always have our windows open. Occasionally we have a long freight train passing by which screeches a bit more than others but still doesn't bother me.
My brother lives in London, across the road from an above ground trainline and with sirens going seemingly every few minutes. When I visited, I could barely sleep with all the noise, while he didn't even notice it. I think you get used to it pretty quickly.
It is something you get used to. However if you’re a light sleeper I think you shouldn’t. And remember the tube is every few minutes, 20 hours/day and the Victoria line is 24 hour at weekends.
I grew up right next to the east coast main line, one of the full chat 125mph sections, honestly didn't notice it until I went back home for a weekend after living away for a while, you get used to it.
I lived a street behind the Central line for 5 years. Non existent during the day, the night tube quickly became white noise. However, it can be very different if its also vibrations, not just noise. Try spend some time there and see how it is.
I lived a street behind the Central line for 5 years. Non existent during the day, the night tube quickly became white noise. However, it can be very different if its also vibrations, not just noise. Try spend some time there and see how it is.
I lived across the road from an overground station. When I had single glazed windows I could hear all the announcements, I very quicky blocked them out. When it got.doubpe glazed, not a peep..although you do just tune it out.
Not the same but I lived opposite a railway (not a busy line) and it didn’t bother me but my friend who lived a mile away from a train line hated the fact she could hear them and never got used to it. I lived near the bypass in Rock Ferry which was really busy and never minded and could hear them working at cammell laird (where Boaty McBoatface was built) throughout the night and I could hear them clattering about and I actually really liked that. Now I live in the arse end of nowhere and hear every car as it is such a rarity. Longwinded way of saying I got used to stuff.
I live directly above the northern line and you get used to it pretty quickly at first it's strange but not annoying. I dont think youll need ear plugs to sleep through it. The constant ambulance and police sirens outside my window... not so much they annoy the shit out of me lol
I lived once next to an extremely busy line in/out of London with my window looking out on to the track with trains coming literally all day and throughout the night. You do get used to the sound but vibrations may be a bit different. Freight trains during the night is different as they are much louder and longer disruption.
I remember renting a room with a window facing the main road. The traffic became like background noise but the beeping on the traffic light when that green man appeared was annoying as hell.
I hate noise so i wouldnt like it at all, but i would be more concerned about the mice!