I sing in a choir with some ladies in their 80s. They've been gamely going up the stairs to the choir loft for as long as I've known them (and both have stairs to their front door, one with an upstairs bedroom). And over the years it has gotten harder and harder for them to make the trek up the stairs. And slower. Even "using it", the wear and tear still accumulates.

cawaps: But they are still doing it, which I'm glad to hear.

Hah, GW123, now that WAS a deal breaker. Two full baths. I have a bungalow now with no BR on 2nd floor, and it's killing me. Use it or lose it does not apply there.

Make sure there is a full bathroom on the floor where the kitchen is. Just in case.

And a bedroom or room that can be turned into one along with laundry facilities. All became issues for my mom and in-laws as they approached their 80s.

When we bought out house, my parents were beginning to have difficulty with stairs, nothing drastic, but you could see the issues to come. We decided to get a ranch home for ourselves that was built with a lower level since the lot is not level. I was around 50 when we bought this place. We have a walk-out basement with a guest room, full bath, workroom, storage, laundry (space to move upstairs when necessary is no problem, and large library. It is perfect for now, but we know it is also a home in which we can age in place. When stairs are an impossibility, we can just stay on the main level-no worries.

My mother had a stroke which meant she could no longer do stairs at all. It was a huge problem. We had absolutely no notice (well, three hours) when the rehab decided to send her home because she had stopped making progress. What a nightmare. The den became her bedroom with a hospital bed. They lived like this for years until I could convince them to move to an assisted living place. The stress on my dad was horrible. I had to drive up every weekend and holiday to take care of and do things for them. We had live-in help for her, too.

I am so glad we bought the house we did. You never know what will happen. If you are not a smoker and are pretty healthy, it is probably fine. If you are happy to be there until you can no longer do the stairs, then go for it. Chances are you will have about 30 years there give or take and that is pretty darn good.

I think all multistory houses should have a bedroom and ensuite bath on the ground floor. It just makes sense---and the room can be used for any other purpose if it is not needed as a bedroom, or until it is.

My son is in real estate development and although their complexes (mainly townhouses) are geared to families they are starting to consider the down-sizers and are adding in some units where there is a master bedroom/ensuite on the entry level.

Just want to add to Cyn's comment that you really never know what will happen. Even if you are pretty healthy, and not a smoker, you could still have a ski accident or need a knee replacement. You just want to be able to do the one-level living when it is necessary.

My healthy, active, vibrant neighbor twisted her foot in a 'funny' manner. She was in her early 60s, with a house on 3 levels. Because she could not do stairs, they set her up in the guest room on the main level. Problem was you had to go up a flight of stairs to get to the main level. Their house is for sale, even after healing, it's too painful for her to use so many stairs.

DH and I are 63 and live in a two story colonial with a basement. We both had knee surgery in the last year. He's way more fit than I am and even he complains about the stairs and we both look forward to moving to a one level house in a few years when he retires. Agree with others that a bedroom/full bath and laundry on the main level are a great idea.

Make sure you can create a one-floor living situation if you need i.e., i.e.: bathroom and ability to bring a bed into the LR, or a spare room, on the first floor with the kitchen.

My DIL had foot surgery a few weeks ago, and is facing another month of non-weight-bearing life, with crutches. She's got the bathroom upstairs and the laundry in the basement. And she's pretty miserable.

So I'll echo the thought that it isn't a matter of age, but that anything can happen at any age.

It's interesting to hear the thought process of some people when it comes to stairs. A friend sold her huge colonial to downsize. She bought a townhouse with stairs. I asked her about the stairs and she explained, "We're only in our 50's!" In other words, you will be willing to move AGAIN it you need to?

A friend's parents also downsized to a townhouse, this one on three levels. They were late 60's at the time. They thought this would be their forever home. My friend's dad now has Parkinson's and the house is on the market. They are moving into a condo on one level.

Yes, there are people in their 90's that are running up and down stairs and you will probably be one of them. But, given the choice, it's best to be cautious.

Do you think this will be your 'forever' home? Like others have pointed out would you be able to stay on the main floor for an extended period? Would this 3 story home be able to accommodate a chair lift if necessary?

To be honest - I wouldn't do it but only you can answer that question.

I agree with others that every place should allow for one-floor living. You don't have to be older or infirmed to need that. I was glad for our one floor living when I broke my ankle, and delighted that Mom was in a 1st floor condo when she broker her ankle (she was laid up with no weight bearing for 4 months!) You just never know. Gal I worked with was laid up for 2 months with her broken ankle...she tripped over the hose at a gas station. Go figure.

My biggest concern would be a possible fall. My aging aunt lives in a ranch style home w/ a full basement & all her laundry appliances are in the basement.She has had back surgery & walks w/ canes now & it seems that a slip on the basement stairs is a distinct possibility...

Since you will need all three floors, common sense says not to buy the duplex. It's scary to admit, but at our age anything can happen at any second of the day.

I have a friend who was recently uninsured for one month. She said not long ago she wasn't going to get on a ladder during that month. A few days later she fell through a trap door. lol. Sprained foot and pretty banged up but she's okay.

Even if you are healthy for now, you just never know if you will need knee, hip, or foot surgery which would make navigation of stairs hard. I've seen this with my siblings and MIL. Or trip and fall and sprain your knee or ankle. Our house is small but we are single floor. I would consider an addition before moving to a place that has multiple levels.

But, yes, at work I try to take stairs whenever possible, even to the 4th floor conference room.

We had looked at some model homes that had masters on main, which I liked. My niece has a new home where all the BR's are upstairs. I read an article that these typically suburban homes are going to be at a surplus as people age.

My dream downsized / retirement house is a one and a half story home. The downstairs has a large great room of living and dining (not necessarily open completely to the kitchen), a study, small den, open porches and a big screened porch. There is a master bedroom, sitting area and bathroom on the ground floor with doors that open to a private porch or deck area. The stairs up are not in the entrance hall, but around to the side going up from the great room.

Upstairs there is a generous landing with couches, three ensuite bedrooms with charming dormers and a long bonus room fitted with many sets of built in bunk beds. The upstairs would accommodate our three adult children and spouses (if and when) and the bunk room would contain grandchildren. The landing would give them a common room of their own. (Hmmm, should they have their own deck, as well? No--- too dangerous for the children.) The porches that run the length of the back of the house are open for 10 or 12 ft wide with steps down to a stone patio and then a large expanse of grass to play on. The front yard is just wooded. There is a tennis court and badminton and croquet on the lawn. Our three dogs have become remarkably well behaved, needing neither fence nor electric shock to keep them safe at home.

And there is a small, attractive greenhouse, and the garage is three bays, with one of those made into storage specifically for Christmas.

This is what our "forever" house looks like in my mind's eye. Please note that this fantasy started out with a ground floor master bedroom---which I already have!

Thank God we didn't buy a house with more than one story. I am now using a wheelchair and that has been a problem because there's a step down in the living room from the sunroom and office. If we had bought a multiple story house we would definitely have been forced to sell it. You never know what can happen or when. I certainly didn't foresee my current conditions. I am not a lot older than you are. My husband was in a car accident a drugged out guy in a piece of junk pickup truck broadsided him - ran through the stop sign. My husband ended up with broken knee caps which never really healed properly and no way he could handle stairs all the time. He does do the stairs at his office at least once a day to keep working them. But more than that would be extremely painful. An accident can happen to anyone at any age.

I personally would not do it. If you do, as mentioned numerous times plan ahead for main level living.

I wouldn't get the home because of the vertical living. We came *this* close to buying a townhome before we bought our split level, and I am so glad we pulled back.

After this house, it will be one-floor living and I can't wait.

You can get your exercise other ways, but stairs are compulsory in many homes and could be detrimental.

I'll never forget watching my mother struggle up her steps after heart bypass surgery ;-(

kswl, we toured a model very much like that, except we don't need the second floor. Loved the Master on main, then there was a patio off the MBR and great room. The upstairs had a huge bonus room. Nice house, but way too much space for us being 2 adults and 2 cats. Though it had a butler's pantry which I loved.

We owned a 1939 three story duplex when we were in our twenties. The other half was owned by the original owner, who was in her eighties. She was awesome: did her own yard work, shoveled her own walk (she would wake us up at 6am on a Sat with the sound of the shovel and we would have to drag ourselves out of bed to go shovel before she started doing our sidewalk too!), took meals to the old folks. Then she fell on the basement steps. I was home alone because dh was out of town for work and to this day I'm not quite sure what clued me in, but I figured out something was wrong and she wasn't answering her door or phone so I called the police. They found her conscious; she had fallen hours earlier. She died in the hospital a couple of days later.

I think continuing to use the stairs in other settings is a good idea, but I would advocate for single floor living for an aging in place home. We now live in a single story and that was a consideration for us even though we are only in our 40s because we plan to stay for the long haul.

I wouldn't buy a three story townhouse w/o an elevator. Like others said, you will age and you never know what will happen. Especially if you decide this is your forever home. Our summer home in CO had three levels and we used the elevator when we had groceries. My parents' 30 yo home has four levels (if you include the finished attic) and they use their elevator all the time now that they are in their 80s.

DH just had his 2nd knee surgery in 11 months. We have a large, two story home, but can live on the main level. I rarely go to our lower level, but do the stairs several times a day (multiple times each time) for exercise/leg strength.

I remember reading something written by a vietnam vet who was wheelchair bound...he referred to the rest of us as "the temporarily able-bodied". Was kind of a wake up call.

When we built our home we were in our early 30's. We knew even then that we wanted a one level home. May or may not be our forever home. The two houses we had before this one had upstairs and downstairs and we knew we did not want that again. We have 3 shallow steps coming up the front porch but the garage entrance has no steps. One step coming from sunroom or back door to patio. Knee surgeries seem to be so common now days, I would have that in mind.