Having a bedroom on the main floor is big NO for me - I grew up in a ranch and our first house was a ranch, and I love the feeling of privacy a second floor bedroom gives me.
We are 65 (H) and 58 (me). Our family doctor is a big proponent of “use it or lose it”, so we have a finished basement, main floor and upper floor with stairs we use multiple times every day. This is the house we’ve been in for 26 years.
I would still buy a house with stairs at our age - the only reason why I wouldn’t is if one of us already had an existing issue. No sense worrying about tomorrow (too much) if everything else about the house fits, in my opinion.
I have to admit reading both of these in one day made me chuckle. We all have our risk tolerances in certain situations, and shouldn’t look down on others who make different choices.
I agree that this is all about personal comfort levels. My impression of the OP from other posts is that she is very healthy, and very fit.
I live in a historic district where all the houses are multilevel. Our house has four finished levels. We have plenty of neighbors in their 80s who are still managing with no first floor bedroom or bathroom. One of the previous owners of our house was here until his 90s.
And my octogenarian inlaws have a three story townhome as their second home and are also doing just fine.
So do we post anecdotes about those who fell and suffered terrible consequences? There are always stories either way. As others stated, it is all about the level of risk one wants to assume versus the tradeoff of the reward one gets from living in a multilevel home. I don’t value that reward highly; others might. What is foolish is not acknowledging the risk.
I agree. I love my 235 year old house and have no plans for moving, so I understand loving a house with different floors. That said, I watched my MIL move almost every year, from a house to a 2 storey townhome, to an apartment, to assisted living because she was in denial about her declining health as she aged.
None of us want to become infirm, but – hello! – most of us WILL. I find denial of this possibility one of the toughest things for those caring for the elderly to deal with. Make it easy for your kids!! (Whatever that looks like for you. Just don’t count on beating the odds and never needing care!)
100% agree. For us, aging in place was never our goal. We will move to a multi-level care facility near our daughter when the time comes. I want her to be easily able to visit us and oversee our care, without having to do it herself. I also don’t want her to have to get on a plane or travel a long distance.
In thinking more about this thread, the one family member who is really struggling with all the stairs in our house is our little senior dog. He needs to be carried. Thankfully he’s only 13 pounds but we’d have ramps all over the house if we had a big dog, or he’d be confined to the first floor.
I’d say no if there were zero bathroom on main floor (like our first house). But in a pinch after surgery or something you could make do putting a bed in the 1st floor open pace.
My sharp, healthy 96 year old Dad fell a few months ago (not on the stairs… getting up from a too-low swivel chair) and broke his hip. He is back at home now after rehab, and having a 1/2 bath on the kitchen/living floor would be so nice! Instead there is a potty chair. He does manage the 8 stairs up to the bedroom and down/down to the garage, but it is not easy. The situation is not ideal, but he has truly loved being in that house for more than 30 years of retirement. It does help that his wife is much younger.
In thinking about this more, one of the reasons I figure that I may as well choose a single story is that I already live in one (and love it) and there are many in my area. It’s likely I would buy one regardless since it’s what is around. And I love my current house, which is well located, walking distance to a great grocery store, coffee shop, a walking path along the bay. Many older people live here and get out plenty. The weather is good a lot of the time. So, if we stick around the area, seems like a fine place to grow old. Maybe I will get hit by a cyclist instead of fall down my stairs!
We are in our 60s but move frequently due to H’s job, and we rent. Our current house has all bedrooms upstairs or downstairs (3 levels; enter on the middle level) and all full baths are up or down. We’re fine here and it’s temporary, but H’s parents are still living and are in their 80s and talked about visiting us; we live about a 6.5 hour drive away. We realized there was no way they could really stay in our home. Even to enter the house requires a few stairs that have no handrail. Unfortunately FIL’s health has deteriorated since we moved here so they’re not planning to visit us any longer.
In a previous city we lived in, the place we rented had all the main living on the ground level with two guest bedrooms and an extra bathroom up. At the time I had a home office upstairs in one of the bedrooms. I had a temporary injury that made it difficult to navigate stairs, and realized then that when we eventually retire and find a home, I would want all the main living on the main floor.
My grandmother lived in a very hilly city and their house was built on the side of a hill. To get to the front door required over 20 steps, and once in the house there were stairs everywhere. She did feel having to do all the stairs kept her young, until she had a fall in her late 80s.
This is such an interesting thread. My mouth has dropped a couple times!
Re: wanting privacy so not wanting a first floor bedroom…. 90+% of the time it’s just H and I here. In our case the other bedrooms are upstairs - in fact the kids can have the entire 2nd floor and we never have to see them! (2 beds, full bath, big vaulted family room upstairs). But 90+% of the time we have all the privacy we want.
My mom was 88 when she died and still living in her own one level home but with a full basement. She swam laps at least 3 times a week and walked a 3 miles daily but started to get nervous about doing those basement stairs. She had very little down there she needed to get to so we just moved anything she did, up to the main level.
An interesting poll would be “of those 80+ living in a multi-level home….even if they are doing stairs now….given an easy transition to a one-level home (someone will move ALL your stuff - you don’t have to do anything!) would you make the move?” My point being, they may be making do now and be physically able with some creaks and cracks of the bones and joints - because that is where home is now. But given an easy choice to transition - would they???
We can keep tabs on the “score” of this thread - for one level or not. You have to decide what works for your situation! I think a good summary would be 60-70ish - take the chance and get the multi-level. But if you are thinking we want this move to ideally be a “one and done” then really take that OPTION to live on one floor (even if you choose a bedroom/bath upstairs now) seriously.
We are in our sixties and will probably be moving in the next 5 years. We will be looking for a ranch , or a two story that at least has a bedroom and bath on the first floor.
Travel to many places in the world and you see elderly walking hills and stairs. They don’t have the options we do. I think it keeps them healthy longer.
My house has several levels but it’s not a true two story. I’ve got 8 stairs to my bedroom. When I had my knee replacement I slept the first week in a downstairs bedroom. I had no stairs to get to the bathroom. I did have two steps to get to the living and kitchen. The two step had no handrail and the PT felt the 8 step with a handrail was safer.
I haven’t read this entire thread but bottom line for me is absolutely not. I will never have another home without a full bath and bedroom on a main easily accessible level. My current home (three levels, master plus add’l 2br/2ba upstairs, half ba on main, 1br/ba basement, lots of stairs) is not conducive for my parents to visit as my dad now has mobility issues. I even have nine steps from my front walk to the porch / main. The full bedroom, bonus and bath on the lower/garage level is the only option if my parents visit…we take meals and everything down there. But it’s not ideal. And it would not be an acceptable option if I was incapacitated in some way.
So my next home criteria will include a bedroom and full bath on an accessible main level. I don’t mind if it’s not the master as I’m still relatively young and in good health and shape. But I’ve seen how quickly my parents’ (great physical health previously) mobility changed in the past few years (Parkinson’s) so I’d rather have an easy way to adjust without moving.
I would prefer a one level home for any future move. Our current home is split, and should we need it, a stair lift (for only 6 risers) would be sufficient for mobility to most of the house.
But it is not just for me. I’ve had guests with mobility issues. We also once shared our home briefly with a young intern who then needed leg surgery. It worked - but with some difficulty.
Mobility issues have nothing to do with age - although the chances of needing assistance will increase with age.
If the home is not adaptable, could you move easily? Quickly? Rent temporarily (if temporary)? It’s just easier to plan for universal design from the start, if you have that option.
It is HARD to move! We have sold our house, and moved twice in the last year, and the amount of decision-making about what to keep and what to get rid of was so exhausting, not to mention the process of getting settled in a new place and updating all the addresses and finding new healthcare providers, etc… I am in my mid-60’s and wouldn’t want to be doing it in my 70’ or 80’s. Hopefully we will stay here! We are building a house for DD and her family and we will have a small cottage. Both houses are on one level with a full basement. Ours will be tiny, but will have 1 1/2 bathrooms, which is the most important part, and laundry will be on the main floor. Basement will be for storage. I agree that having stairs in the house are good exercise, but sadly and anecdotally, a beloved relative of mine fell down the stairs and broke their neck years ago. I think I will just practice my squats or use a stair stepper to get my exercise.
Most likely would not. Especially without a full bath downstairs.
In our current home our bedroom is on the first floor along with a full bath and half bath. There are only two bedrooms upstairs (with a full bath) and for the most part I don’t really go up there.
I don’t mind the stairs now but later that could change. They are pretty steep and if you fall your noggin will explode as it is a hard tile floor below.
