We live on 10+ acres about 10 miles from a town of 100,000. The glow in the sky from that direction makes the stars hard to see unless you get behind the house. Then the big and little dippers are easy to find. Way too much road noise to suit me, from a major highway a mile south and then the Interstate a mile past that. The road out front is also a lot busier than it was when we bought. We also hear the train sometimes, even though the tracks are at least ten miles away. The sound probably comes up valleys that go all the way down to the Missouri River where the tracks are. I don't mind the train. At least my neighbors are both pretty far off and mostly quiet. The folks behind us keep a varying pack of dogs, as near as I can tell, and they will sometimes raise Caine all day or night, but they are far enough off that it is a minor annoyance. There are a few of the big security lights around, but the trees keep most of that light from bothering us. If we sit out back on the patio, with the house between us and the road, and also the nearby town, on moonless nights it is dark enough to let me think I'm really out in the boonies....if I work at it!
When I hit the lottery I'm going to find some property completely surrounded by state or government forest or park or something. Many years ago I had the opportunity to buy about 100 acres of land like that in the East Tennessee mountains. The road not taken can be a pain to contemplate sometimes.
Chuck