Is peace possible in the house despite an unprotected railway crossing (honking)?

Our policeman wanted to...

Sensitive guy ;)

We live 1-2 km as the crow flies from the highway and yes, you can hear the highway as a slight background noise when the wind is right and the surroundings are quiet.

We live about 600 meters west of the BAB, and you notice a noise that is not disturbing. It’s louder with cold east wind, but inside you don’t hear it.
The freight traffic is about 1.2 km away from us. You don’t hear anything. I used to live along this "line" in the neighboring town, and there you could sometimes hear the freight train, but only with a shrug.

Nothing is as annoying as children, not even an ICE through your living room :D. So I can only recommend building accordingly if you are sensitive to noise.

True. Or the echo of car doors next door.

But it’s about the honking... isn’t it comparable to tower bells? We have those too – which I like, for example – not everything you hear is disturbing (like those annoying chirpers outside :cool:)

There is also a psychological component involved that should not be underestimated. If it already bothers you now, it is very likely that it will bother you much more later. I also lived for years next to a railway, I didn't hear anything. And as the best example, I can mention a colleague who lives right next to a large hospital and its helicopter landing pad... I asked him if that doesn't drive him crazy, his answer: On the contrary, it calms him extremely because there is hardly anyone who gets help faster in an emergency. So here applies what Jack Sparrow put so nicely: Not the problem is the problem, but your attitude towards the problem!

Friends of ours live in a settlement about 1.5 km away from the highway. It is clearly audible.

I do not perceive church bells, only the death knell. That sounds different. Last year, during the curfew, it was really very quiet. That was the first time I noticed what kind of "soundscape" exists in the background. The brain can apparently filter out quite well what is important.
A buddy had lived very close to Augsburg central station for years. He didn’t notice anything at all. Not the vibrations, not the honking, not the driving noises.

What matters is how often and when does the train pass by?

Actually, the discussion is tedious because it has to fit for him later. And he should certainly not take any unnecessary risks if he already has concerns now. The soundproof windows are the best invested money, actually for every new building regardless of location. The small additional cost should always be worth it :)

You can discuss the building envelope because more factors come into play there and the cost factor can quickly run into five digits.

You get used to everything and block out background noise over time, otherwise I would go crazy because of my wife...

:p

Which does not mean that it works in the long term or unconsciously still causes problems.

The OP should just take a day off and sit on his plot. Then he will see what passes by and how.