We’ve had many elderly people in our families who wished that had a flat home. Arthritis, heart problems, diabetes, cancer, etc. made mobility problems as they aged. Carrying in groceries and up and down with the sweeper and decorations made challenges. They lived in areas with very few ranch homes.

Anonymous wrote:Get a ranch style or at least one with a fist floor master. My in laws are very active- FIl has abs and plays tennis regularly MIL was an athlete and bikes everyday. In their early 60s my MIL fell 2x and had to have another knee surgery (she was a runner in her youth so had a knee surgery in her 30s) and broke her arm in 3 places. Luckily they had a first primary bedroom and bath. You never know

Exactly. If it’s meant to be the home where you spend your old age, it’s important to consider this stuff. Obviously 55 is very different than 85, but if the intention is to never move again, it’s good long term planning to have options.

Flat homes are desirable and very difficult to find in some parts.

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I are looking for a vacation home/retirement home. Every time we mention it to a realtor, they send us ranch style homes.

What is it-once you are over 55 you can’t go up and down stairs anymore???

Unfortunately, that's what a lot of people think. But if you look at the places where people live long, healthy lives, usually there is a lot of climbing up and down hills.

Move it or lose it. I intend to retire to a three level townhouse and stay there until i die.

Anonymous wrote:It's not that you can't walk stairs, it's that you shouldn't.

That's ridiculous. Yes, most will get to a point where they can't handle stairs. But if you aren't there yet, you should be keeping as active and mobile as possible and regularly climbing stairs is helpful with that.

My mom lived in a house where they had a few steps up to the bedroom level and a full flight to get out to the garage and she handled them fine. Moved in with my sister, in a 1st floor master, where she never goes up more than 1 step to get into the house and her mobility rapidly declined (age early 80s). It was really shocking what a difference it made.

As we think about a retirement home, it absolutely needs a 1st floor space that can be used as a bedroom + a bathroom but in the near term, I'd prefer a house with stairs. If we happen to end up with a ranch then I'm going to have to be more intentional about building that baseline level of activity into daily life in other ways.

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I are looking for a vacation home/retirement home. Every time we mention it to a realtor, they send us ranch style homes.

What is it-once you are over 55 you can’t go up and down stairs anymore???

You and Biden. Denial is real.

It's not that you can't walk stairs, it's that you shouldn't.

The idea is to be able to age in place. My mom also had a stroke from out of nowhere a few years ago and it would have been so much easier had they downsized to a ranch or at least had a bedroom on the main floor of their colonial style house.

most everyone over 55 wants a first floor bedroom, so that’s what they’re assuming you want and that’s often a ranch.

Is this a real question?

People stress about stairs but stair lifts are actually pretty easy. I would pay more attention to the width of hallways and bathroom doors and to the potential for slippery outside surfaces getting to and from the car. Personally.

This is probably just because you’re looking in warmer locations where housing was built post WWII, zoning supported cheap, larger lots and basements weren’t required by geology. Tada, ranch homes.

Get a ranch style or at least one with a fist floor master. My in laws are very active- FIl has abs and plays tennis regularly MIL was an athlete and bikes everyday. In their early 60s my MIL fell 2x and had to have another knee surgery (she was a runner in her youth so had a knee surgery in her 30s) and broke her arm in 3 places. Luckily they had a first primary bedroom and bath. You never know

So tell your realtor exactly what you’re looking for? You won’t be 55 forever and mobility issues are not uncommon as people age.

My husband and I are looking for a vacation home/retirement home. Every time we mention it to a realtor, they send us ranch style homes.

What is it-once you are over 55 you can’t go up and down stairs anymore???