3 story house / townhome with children?

[TXbywayof]

I can see a two story town home no problem. It's the 3-story ones that you really have to think about. The bottom floor is a complete waste, usually with a guest room and laundry room. The second floor is for living, and the third for bedrooms. OP, think about carrying that baby up those stairs every time you return home from an outing. Or think about carrying a two-year-old who has fallen asleep in the car up those stairs. Or, if you have a dog and your master is on the third floor, think about rushing to the bottom floor to let the dog out in the AM....or any other time of day. I actually think 3-stories is doable with kids about age 4 and up.

[Meyerland]

We did it with one child and it was no different from our old two story home we had previously. We rarely went into the basement area except to traverse up from the garage.

It's the second child you need to think about. Are you willing to have the infant in your room until the two kids could share a room? You really want to be close to your kids at night.

[nativelady15]

Thank you all for the feedback! Very much appreciate the different perspectives and great points made. We are still mulling over it. Or I guess I should say that I am. My husband's onboard. We shall see!

It's not like we are going to pick up and move to the suburbs in search of a 1 or 2 story house (my husband claims "never in a million years!" ha). We are both very urban people so we are staying put inside the loop. In fact we are very set in staying a specific area inside the loop so we are not willing to go as far as Oak Forest or anything like that.

I think we will end up dealing with the 3 story set up. Even if we had a 2 story townhome we would still be dealing with stairs to get to the bedrooms, granted all would hopefully be on the same level. What's 1 more flight of stairs?

[houstmom]

We found a rare 3 story townhouse in the Rice Military area that had 3 bedrooms on the top floor (including master) and one bedroom with bath on the 1st floor. I wanted my two young children on the same floor as my husband and I.

We toured one 3 story town home with 2 bedrooms on the 1st floor and the master on the 3rd. There is no way we would do that arrangement with young children.

We also rented a rare 2 story town home in Rice Military town home with a traditional lay out (living areas on 1st floor, all bedrooms up).

I preferred living in the 2 story home. It got very old having to drag children and grocery bags up a flight of stairs every time we came home.

[TallGreengrass]

Vertical living is challenging. Stairs carrying a baby is scary. Stairs with a crawling baby/walking toddler is terrifying. And until the kids are older and able to play alone safely out of your sight, you'll find yourself squeezed into one area/room, usually where the kitchen/TV is and it will look like Toyland no matter how many big, tasteful baskets you buy to store toys...so many loud, flashing, primary colored, oversized plastic toys...

The big concern I see is, are you comfortable putting a toddler on the ground floor if you're on the third floor master and baby #2 comes along...because that situation can come sooner than you think. Or vice versa, you on the first floor and baby/toddler on the 3rd floor? It's hard letting the little ones be so far away. And then when they cry...

That said, I could see the first baby or just one child, but 2 kids...no. Don't be surprised if by baby #2 your idea of 'everything' in the 'being close to everything' changes. It happens to the best of us.

Ps-we knew a lady who broke her leg and lived in a 3 story townhome/patio home that did not have an elevator...she said it was a horrible, terrible experience for EVERYONE. Her family concurred.
Ps- potty training w/o a bathroom on every floor sounds like nightmare. Stairs and racing to get a kid to the potty....nightmare.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by TallGreengrass

Vertical living is challenging. Stairs carrying a baby is scary. Stairs with a crawling baby/walking toddler is terrifying. And until the kids are older and able to play alone safely out of your sight, you'll find yourself squeezed into one area/room, usually where the kitchen/TV is and it will look like Toyland no matter how many big, tasteful baskets you buy to store toys...so many loud, flashing, primary colored, oversized plastic toys...

The big concern I see is, are you comfortable putting a toddler on the ground floor if you're on the third floor master and baby #2 comes along...because that situation can come sooner than you think. Or vice versa, you on the first floor and baby/toddler on the 3rd floor? It's hard letting the little ones be so far away. And then when they cry...

That said, I could see the first baby or just one child, but 2 kids...no. Don't be surprised if by baby #2 your idea of 'everything' in the 'being close to everything' changes. It happens to the best of us.

Ps-we knew a lady who broke her leg and lived in a 3 story townhome/patio home that did not have an elevator...she said it was a horrible, terrible experience for EVERYONE. Her family concurred.
Ps- potty training w/o a bathroom on every floor sounds like nightmare. Stairs and racing to get a kid to the potty....nightmare.

Scary? Terrifying? Nightmare?

Talk about "first world problems."

[KatieKennedy]

We just bought a three story patio home in the Heights. We love the charm of the neighborhood and accessibility to Upper Kirby, Montrose, downtown, restaurants, shops, etc. The people selling the house have a small child and another on the way. They are building a bigger house in the area. I bet it is not a 3 story. In the house we just bought the kitchen/living area is on 1, master and game room are on the second floor, and 2 secondary bedrooms and a small office area are on 3. They have gates on all of the stairs and a video monitor on the child's crib. We like the set up now as we have a teenager who wants her privacy upstairs on the third floor. We don't want or need a large yard at this point. I don't think I would have liked it much when she was younger as there is a long way between the kitchen and the third floor bedrooms and not much of a yard for play. Also, even if your children are very small now, you should give great consideration to what schools are zoned to home you are considering (if you plan to put your kids in public school). Many inner loop areas are not zoned to the greatest schools, but there are ways around this such as the magnet program. All of these factors will affect your resale value. You may not think you will resell the house soon, but you could change your mind quickly once there are multiple kids in a 3 story.

[jereviens]

I think you are focusing on the unimportant. Multiple flight of stairs, bedrooms and bathrooms on separate floors, etc... may be unpleasant annoyances at the time - but they are guaranteed to diminish in importance soon enough as the children get older.

But the quality of your children's education is critical and will never diminish in importance because it will impact their entire futures.

Maybe you have already budgeted for private school (and have planned your strategy for getting your child high up on the waiting lists many private schools have). If so, enjoy the Montrose townhouse!

But if you are planning on HISD schools - acceptance into a magnet school is not guaranteed. Look very, very closely at the quality (or lack there of) of the schools the townhouse will be zoned to ("decent, as far as I know" does not sound like a particularly in-depth evaluation). And not just the elementary but the middle and high schools (the years will pass sooner than you think).

[Meyerland]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Scary? Terrifying? Nightmare?

Talk about "first world problems."

Yeah, we just put baby gates at the top and bottom of all three floors. No big deal at all in the thinner tow home designs.

My sister and friends with the huge and wide staircases had issues in their McMansions.

I have lived in one with a child and it was a non issue really. My legs were in amazing shape then. Now I am in a one story ranch and I miss the exercise from stairs.

Carrying groceries was the only thing that bothered me. I learned to have them bag the frozen and cold items together. Then you can leave the non perishable stuff downstairs and bring it up later.