The sights and sounds around you are important in defining your sense of place and finding the right home for you. As you look at different locations don’t forget to consider not only what is on the ground but also what fills the airspace overhead.
The map below shows the ‘noise footprint’ of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Click here to map the MSP airport impact on a specific Twin Cities address.
Also keep in mind that the impact trails beyond the basic mapped footprint. For example, our son and daughter-in-law live in St. Louis Park, about 7 miles beyond the tip of the noise footprint above near Lake Harriet but on the same path. While airplane noise isn’t really bothersome where they live, they definitely have planes overhead and theycan be heard…our grandson is always pointing them out to us!
Whether or not the airplanes are a concern depends on you. What isn’t noticeable or even likeable to one person can be bothersome to another. Think about how you live and what sounds are important to you. Do you want to hear birds…with no other sounds to interfere? Do you like to have your windows open or closed? Are you a light sleeper? Do you spend most of your time inside or outside? Do extraneous noises bother you?
The Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) takes the noise impact seriously and since 1992 has implemented one of the most comprehensive airport noise home mitigation programs in the world. The program reduces interior noise levels by a least five decibels and includes installation of windows and doors, central air-conditioning, wall insulation and vent baffling. Click here for more information and to see if a location is part of past or future MAC mitigation sites.
While the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is the largest in the Twin Cities metro area, there are also smaller airports. If you are considering a property in the vicinity of those airports be sure to consider their impact as well. Smaller aircraft can be bothersome in different ways…they tend to fly lower, their pitch can be higher and more annoying to some people and activity is more sporadic and unpredictable due to private planes with no set schedule.
Only you can decide what is right for you…but make an informed decision.
