Different strokes for different folks. As zk points out, when tradeoffs are necessary different people will have different priorities.

Some are not bothered by noise so living close to a freeway is not an issue. My parents were that way. I’d visit the home they bought about the time I entered college and wonder why they lived there (backed up to a highway), but they were perfectly content so I didn’t rain on their parade.

There really is no perfect house, even in the upper price echelons. I am simply floored by how many bad floor plans exist on high end homes. And even the folks I know who built their own house? I haven’t found one yet who doesnt wish they would have designed in a bit differently.

There is no perfect housing solution out there. You pretty much have to pick your poison.