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ladychicago
member
Any townhouse dwellers? Homes with LOTS of stairs?
ladychicago
member
So... DH and I have our eye on a townhouse that is on the market. The location could not be more perfect (seriously PERFECT), it has a pretty good amount of space that we feel we could be there for 5-7 years, BUT... there are a ton of stairs. Like... a ton.
My main issue is that there is literally no way to get outside without at least one, often two, sets of stairs. The front door (which has concrete stairs leading up to it) only takes you to a split landing... up to the main level, down to the garage. Which means when I am out with the stroller (which I am a lot in the city... I walk to the store almost every day with the stroller), I would come in the garage, and then have 2 sets of stairs to climb with 2 kids before I'd reach the main level of the house. And every time I go grocery shopping, the same shtick... kids, groceries, all up those stairs. The bedrooms are up yet another fairly large set of stairs.
I am just wondering if anyone can help shed perspective on this... Is it doable? Are we crazy for even thinking about it? I feel like we can figure out a child-containment strategy for when we need to make multiple trips to/from the garage...and we would heavily invest in safety gates. and the people who live there now have a 4 year old that they raised from birth there, so it clearly worked for them with an infant/small child. But still - anyone have any experience? All of those stairs make me nervous... in terms of safety, logistics, and sheer exhaustion...
(oh, and funny qualifer - we're going for a 2nd showing this weekend and bringing the Bulldog. Because bulldogs SUCK at stairs. She can go up them, but her top-heavy self has a hard time going down them. If she can't get down the stairs, it could be a DQ... ha!)
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Because we're fancy like that.
Because we're fancy like that.
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Re: Any townhouse dwellers? Homes with LOTS of stairs?
I don't personally live in one, but a friend of mine lives in one very similar to what you describe (in fact I wondered if it was in the same development!) and she has 2 little ones and has made it work. So it's not as if you'd be the first with two little ones. Another friend of mine lives in a similar place but only 2 sets of stair, with one tiny. THe only complaint I've ever heard from either about living there with the kids is having elderly family visit and their inability to navigate the stairs as needed.
Good luck!
We did live in a townhouse while our house was being built. The townhouse and tons of stairs and it was a giant PITA. The other thing is that, at least our townhouse, was very cut off. There wasn't as much area for the girls to play while we were moving about from floor to floor.
We ended up having groceries delivered most of the time so that helped, diapers too. So, we didn't have to haul all that up with kids in tow.
I live on a hillside. It sucks big time. There is nowhere in the yard to play and slogging groceries and a 2 year old who is not walking up three flights of stairsin the front and more stairs from the garage in the back is a major PITA.
I do not go out on walks much from the house because of this as well. Also there is no room in the house to park the stroller by the door. (no coat closet) We keep our stroller in the car and usually go to parks. We also have had an elderly family member not come over in the winter due to fear of falling. Shoveling sucks as well.
I will never purchase another house with more than one set up steps up to the door. The buyers market is probably good enough to pass and wait for a better situation IMO. You should also consider what you will do once your dog gets a little older too. You may be carrying the dog up & down the steps to do their business.
On the upside, you do get some good exercise.
Our house is a raised ranch - that is, the garage, the front door, the entrances are on the bottom level. You go up a steep flight of stairs to get to the main living area, including the kitchen. (It is built into the side of a mountain)
Hauling groceries up stairs is a pain, always has been, but you quickly get used to it. I've always brought the kiddo in, taken her upstairs, and then gone back for all the other stuff. It isn't a big deal. To me, it is worth it to have essentially all our living space on one level - bedrooms, kitchen, family room, play room.
The one big question I would have - do the kitchen and the family room share the same level? If not that would be a deal breaker to me.
I'm sure you've already considered this, but in many markets, if you are only going to keep a house for 5 years, it rarely makes financial sense to buy. Granted, there are other factors to consider instead of money, but just wanted to point that out.
Like with anything, I'm sure you could make it work. Would I, personally, choose a house with all those stairs - no.
Before we bought our TH we were thinking about buying a condo on the third floor of a building from some friends. No elevator, no garage - just stairs partially exposed to the elements. After some serious thought we decided against it. I'm all for extra exercise but it's just not ideal. And if you have a choice, which you certainly do, I wouldn't do it. Especially if G can't handle the stairs well now...think about when she's older. Are you prepared to carry an infant, toddler and dog downstairs multiple times a day?
We are in a townhouse with 2 sets of stairs, and with stairs leading into the house, and the stairs are the thing I'm most looking forward to leaving behind when we move in March. And I only have one kid!
It was hard to get used to when we moved here (DS was 8 months and I felt like I was constantly carrying him up and down stairs) but now that he's 2, it's a bit better. The worst part is groceries and laundry (down two flights of stairs with a toddler and a laundry basket every time, yuck.) I usually park DS on the middle level behind a gate while I run the laundry upstairs or downstairs, then go fetch him to bring him to me. I definitely get my exercise that way!
Another thing to consider is whether there are bathrooms on every level. Ours are on level 1 and 3, which is definitely a PITA.
I am thankful every day for my miracle after infertility.
And thrilled to be pregnant again after FET!
We live in a townhouse with a garage, so we have a set of steps going from our familyroom/garage/laundry level to the main level with the kitchen, living room, dining room. Then another set of steps takes us to the bedrooms. We have 3 gates - one going downstairs on each set of steps and 1 going up from the family room. Its nice to have him penned in sometimes.
It can be a real pain in the a$$ sometimes, to be honest. But I wouldn't *not* buy a house because of this. Its such a short period of time when they both won't be walking. And the plus side is that Jacob is a pro at steps.
I have 4 big complaints about the steps in our house. When I have to do laundry which is on the garage level, it is a huge pain to take it up to our bedrooms. Groceries are a big pain too. But I've started just leaving him in the car and at least getting all the groceries in the house. He's sitting in the car in the garage, so he's totally fine. Whenever I have to drag him from one floor to another (now that he's bigger), I am totally winded when I get up there. And finally, my grandma has a really hard time getting to our house. It doesn't stop her from coming, but she can only really navigate one set of steps in a visit.
To answer those who had questions...
The main floor has two living rooms/areas, the kitchen, a dining room, a half bath, and the laundry room. We'd probably convert the dining room (which is in between the kitchen and main living room) into a playroom-type space since we have pretty much no use for a formal dining room right now. So it is definitely the floor where we would spend nearly all of our time. and there is enough space where we could set up a changing station for the baby on the main floor, too.
The bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms (one master) are on the top floor.
The lower garage level has a small 11x7 office type room just inside the garage - so the strollers could easily live there. When the kids are older and can play unsupervised, we may turn that space into a kid zone/playspace, but for starters it would likely be an office and storage.
(ETA: and we have only have one living grandparent left who is in a different state and in no condition to ever travel, so elderly visitors isn't a huge concern for us. Our own parents should be able to handle the stairs for the length of time we'd likely be there - even if it is 10 years).
I really appreciate everyone's insight. Really! So much to think about...
Because we're fancy like that.
I don't live in a townhouse, but the house we live in now has a ton of stairs that I have to go up and down everytime we leave the house.
The stairs are the main reason we just sold this house. It makes my life with two children next to impossible. Coming in and out is a complete pain the rear end, and getting groceries when I have the kids is IMPOSSIBLE.
Safety is definitely an issue. Two times this week, Caroline has almost fallen down a long flight of stairs. I was carrying Park's infant seat and holding her hand while going down to the basement garage...she slipped and I almost ripped her arm out of the socket trying to keep her from falling and breaking her neck...not to mention almost falling myself because I was so off balance.
I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever again live in a house where I have to go up and down stairs to get to the main living area again. Our new house is two story, but only the bedrooms are upstairs.
Don't do it. Just don't...please, take it from me...don't do it!!
Yay! Are you going to move closer to me!?
I live with stairs, not exactly the same amount you mention, but we have about 8 outdoor steps to get in our house and a full set of steps up to our bedrooms (and Will's changing table and potty is up there, so we do those steps pretty frequently when we're home) and a full set of steps down to our finished basement where most of Will's toys are. (Always a bit of a bummer when we're playing in the basement and he needs a diaper change! But I figure the exercise is good for me!)
Being a city house, my new place is no different. So I would definitely not be opposed to a house like that!
Sadly no... this would be just a teensy bit further from you, but not much. :-)
Because we're fancy like that.
We live in a townhome now and close on our new house on 12/16. I can't wait -- mainly because I am so sick of the stairs! (I know, not what you want to hear
We have about 15 steps from where we park to our front door and I hate schlepping all my work bags/purse, Elizabeth's school bag, and on some nights, Elizabeth herself when she's having a meltdown because it's been a long day at daycare and she's starving for dinner. On the evenings she's happy to walk, it's not so bad.
If I have a lot of stuff and DH isn't with me, it'll just stay in the car until he's home. Or I'll leave her buckled in her carseat, dash up to the door with the bags and then go back for her (and at that point she's howling mad!)
It's definitely doable, but after 2.5 years of doing it a LO, I'm over it! But we've always known this wasn't a longterm home for us, so that's played a role too. If it was the perfect spot I'm sure I could suck it up and deal with it!
The bold part, exactly, only we don't live in a townhouse. We have a tri-level, which is sooo common in this area.
My biggest complaint is hiking up the stairs to the bathrooms because they're all on the bedroom level. We need a half bath on the lowest level but aren't going to be doing any remodeling of that sort any time soon.
We've also had a few issues with limited mobility -- when DH had surgery and was on crutches and when MIL had her foot in a cast.
Also, I didn't grow up around stairs, and that seems to make a difference. I've fallen on our (hardwood - ouch!) stairs twice...once while carrying DS1. Those experiences were scary and painful enough that I am now uber-cautious on our stairs. We don't wear shoes in our house, and I *cannot* wear socks because I don't trust my footing enough, so I'm barefoot at home year-round!