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I get that for some people stairs can become a burden and for any of us it could become so because of an injury but come on it seems like half the people over 50 here are borderline terrified of the simple act of going up and down stairs. Folks have been doing it well into their 90s for millennia and are all the healthier and stronger because of it. When did we become so frail and weak that the rest of us can’t even climb stairs?
I’m 56 and make it a point to go up at least 20 flights of stairs a day (or its equivalent by power walking up hills). There will be a time when I can’t go up stairs, it may be tomorrow, but I’m certainly not going to hasten that time but simply being lazy to the act of doing so today.
I love having the bulk of our living space on one floor and a suite of rooms on another, gives a great separation in a compact house on a small lot and makes it feel larger.
I agree with all of this. I have actually never lived in a one-story house in my life, and I'm 48. I don't mind going up and down; I never think about it, I just do it as I always have done. I work at home, too, so I'm sure I go up and down at least 15-20 times per day.
My grandmother (lived to 97) and dad (now 93) lived in second-floor walk-ups until their late 80s. A close family friend lived to 100 and climbed those stairs every day until one month before she died. I can't help but think that stairs were an important part of the healthy lifestyles of these folks.
I live in a part of SoCal where lots are small, and most houses are two-story. If you insist on one story in my town, it's going to be tiny. I like the extra space, and I also like "going up to bed." If I get to where I can't climb stairs, so be it, but I'm not assuming it's going to happen any time soon.
I can't help but think that stairs were an important part of the healthy lifestyles of these folks.
Quoted for truth. Use it or lose it. Nothing wrong with getting a single story if you need it. If you find yourself with balance problems or some other disability, by all means find the right type of housing, but to dismiss stairs simply based on the prospect of some future disability caused by a willful neglect of your basic physical aptitude is engineering for obsolecence of your own body.
A multistory structure is more efficient, with less surface area for enclosed volume.
But as people age, or get infirm, a single level dwelling has its appeal.
Of course, installing an elevator alleviates the problems of a multistory house.
Unfortunately, government codes have made residential elevators prohibitively expensive.
There are plenty of reasons why people may prefer a one story home. One of the most common reasons I have seen is medical reasons. I knew a couple that was aging and they had a beautiful two story home and they moved because one of them had MS and could no longer get up the stairs (this was years ago before those chair lifts for the stairs were invented). Another couple I knew, also aging, had children that were about to head to college and the mom had knee surgery before so she rarely went upstairs because it was too hard on her and have been considering downsizing to a one story home. If you think about it, I suppose there are plenty of other medical conditions where stairs might be more of a risk than a help such as seizures/epilepsy, Parkinson's, MS, heart conditions, narcolepsy, etc.
Other reasons could be that some want to avoid the dangers of falls in general for themselves or their families, aging factors, maybe they don't like walking up and down stairs, it may take longer or more of an effort to clean, utility expenses if living in an extremely hot/cold area, etc.
I'm not sure about you, but even in a one story, I can sleep in my bedroom without having noise in the living room or nasty smells in the kitchen. It's called bedtime for everybody, guests sent on their way before too late, and make sure those dishes are done and trash is taken out. Voila! Clean, quiet, un-smelly home! There is a separate living and sleeping space in a one story home...and they call the magical barrier in between them...doors. I would rather enjoy a one story home with a nice, convenient floor plan and a nice backyard.
They have curb-appeal and look grander. The house is more energy efficient. There is separate living and sleeping space. I would hate to sleep in my master right next to the noisy living room or smelly kitchen.
Am I the odd one here?
I'm with you. I love multi-storied houses with character and charm. I love old Victorians with porches, fireplaces,and molding. Or an unusual Tudor or stately Colonial. I don't like a boxy rectangular ranch especially one with an open concept that looks like one giant room. I might feel differently if I physically could not do stairs but...not yet.
While I love the look of many two level homes, I find one level to be more convenient depending on the layout. One level homes are also much easier and cheaper to heat and cool.
We had a 2-story house while raising our family and that was fine. When we changed states for a job 3 years ago as empty nesters, I wanted another 2-story but dh would only agree to that if there was a first-floor master, and that's not very common around here, so we ended up with a ranch-style home with everything we need on the main floor and guest space and storage in the walk-out lower level. It works well for us. There are still steps from the street to the front door and from the garage to the house, and we play ping pong in the lower level every day, so we don't avoid them entirely, but it's nice to be able to live on one level if we have to, especially since dh has bad knees. And in our suburban Denver area, there are tons of new ranches being built.
Nope. You're the young one in the discussion.
Over 50 the appeal of stairs diminishes rapidly
Yep. I bought my future retirement house at age 51. No stairs was pretty high on the list. It's not that I can't climb stairs now. When I'm 80, stairs might be a problem and owning a stair-free house is part of the contingency plan.
When I remodeled, I also widened all the doorways and installed a 3' x 5' shower stall. I'm not in a wheelchair but I made sure I wouldn't have to abandon my house for assisted living if I have mobility problems. Another contingency plan.
I've had surgery on both my Achilles tendons at different times. The recovery time is about 8 months, with two of those months basically on crutches, in casts, in a big heavy boot, etc.
It only takes one ankle surgery to figure out really quickly what an unexpected challenge stairs can be.
That being said, I live in a two story house now and it wouldn't be a deal killer to me in the future - as long as the master bedroom and a full bath are both downstairs.
Oh and by the way, I wasn't elderly OR overweight when I had the Achilles tendon drama. Age or weight had nothing at all to do with my difficulty with stairs. Also, this was completely unexpected - and that's the deal with many mobility issues. You can be young and fit and healthy and suddenly BAM - you're on crutches, or worse. And suddenly those stairs look really, really scary.
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