Reply to Why I think people moving in middle age should seek accessible housing

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[quote=Anonymous]I am that person who keeps coming into threads suggesting that anyone in late middle age or later contemplating a move choose a place where they can live stair-free when and if they have to. And I am always swarmed by people telling me only lazy people avoid stairs, their grandmother runs marathons at age 105, etc. etc. etc.

Let me tell you about close friends currently wishing they had an accessible home.

The triathaloning 40-year-old who needs hip replacement surgery.

The very active 60-year-old whose spine has rather suddenly become a debilitating problem.

The 65-year-old accustomed to walking everywhere at a rapid pace who fell off a kitchen ladder and shattered her ankle, requiring multiple surgeries.

Two friends in their 60s with compromised lung function, one from cancer and one from long covid, otherwise well enough to live independently.

The 82-year-old who is fully mentally with-it and able to walk easily on level ground and care for herself who had to move prematurely from her beloved home because it was all too vertical for her.

The 84-year-old who leads an active life in the city and travels regularly and can do everything she wants to do with her rollator except get that rollator up the stairs to where her bedroom and bathroom are.

The 88-year-old who until last month used to walk everywhere with her 89-year-old husband, striding faster than I can go all around the neighborhood, until he fell down the stairs in their home and died.

That’s just a sample.

Stairs are HARD in ways that walking is not—especially going down. We underestimate the balance required until we don’t have it. And stairs can cause significant pain when level walking does not, because of the flexion and load on the joints. Joint deterioration and injuries that severely impair mobility can come on seemingly out of the blue, even and sometimes especially on fit, more active people.

None of this is to say that most people do not benefit from using stairs if they are able or that everyone should flee their multi-level homes. But I’ll repeat: if you are going to the trouble of a major move as empty-nesters or downsizers and want to find a place you love and can stay in for the long haul, try to make it a place you can live in until you need a nursing home.

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