Living in a walk up

[Deleted]

If you ever lived in a walk up apartment/condo please come in. I'm looking for a place to purchase and so far several are 2nd or 3rd floor walk ups. One I saw today is really great, except that it's on the third floor. I like everything else about it. But I'm cringing at the thought of lugging groceries or a possible future baby.  Bf thinks it's no big deal, while I'm on the fence. I called my mom to chat about it and she told me it's the worst idea ever and I ended up hanging up on her. 
Tell me your experiences/horror stories/why it's ok. Thanks!  

[jane6672]

We did, 3rd floor. It wasn't a huge deal.


I did go to extreme lengths to carry all the groceries up at once, no matter how heavy.

[themoneytree]

2nd floor walk up maybe. 3rd floor no.

Where are you? If you're talking NYC or the boroughs, that's one thing, if you're talking some other markets it could really affect your resale desirability and value.

[juliachild]

Well not even considering every day annoyances, the pain of moving in and out made me want to never live on the 3rd floor ever again. Add in taking the dogs out a million times a day and carrying groceries. It was not ideal. I thought we were being smart because the top floor has the least issues with noise. Never again.

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2015 20:24:18 GMT -5 jane6672 said:

We did, 3rd floor. It wasn't a huge deal.


I did go to extreme lengths to carry all the groceries up at once, no matter how heavy.

I will admit that I hate carrying groceries..period.  So there's that. 

[pagas]

DH's condo in Colorado was 3rd floor, it wasn't awful, except no matter what I was always out of breath because of the altitude.

Our current kitchen is on the 2nd floor. I am ready to move to a normal house where I don't have to carry groceries up stairs, it is annoying.

[lime]

We lived in a 2nd floor walk up for 4 years. I don't even consider the 2nd floor to be a "walk up" as it is only one flight of stairs.

I've done a 3rd floor before as well, but that was shorter term. I would be ok with that, but I would probably optimize trips so I didn't have to go up and down the stairs as much.

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2015 20:25:35 GMT -5 themoneytree said:

2nd floor walk up maybe. 3rd floor no.

Where are you? If you're talking NYC or the boroughs, that's one thing, if you're talking some other markets it could really affect your resale desirability and value.

Queens 

[sunshineluv]

I lived in a third floor walk up and didn't mind. Moving in was annoying, but otherwise I didn't care.

With a baby? No, I can't imagine and wouldnt want to deal with that, at all.

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2015 20:29:41 GMT -5 nicbreeful said:

Mar 26, 2015 20:27:51 GMT -5 @blueyes623 said:

Queens 

Oh, well, shit.  Just get the groceries delivered.  Don't most places do it for free if you spend a certain amount?

Lol yeah I know, but delivery is a PITA because they always fuck it up.

[rupertpenny]

I've lived on the 2nd floor of a building, which was NBD. I don't think 3rd floor would be a dealbreaker at all.

In our recent apartment search I actually wanted to see some walk-ups because they are usually older buildings with bigger apartments, but there weren't any available at the time.

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2015 20:34:45 GMT -5 Que? said:

I hated it. The city was kicking my ass and those three flights were the final nail in the coffin of every day, lol. God forbid you ever forget anything. I don't know, I'm lazy.

I'm kind of lazy too. I also think in my heart I'm a bazillionaire and I shouldn't have to deal with such things (my bank account disagrees). Lol

[HiC]

My first two apartments was a six floor walk ups. I had my laundry and groceries delivered. It was totally fine for me but I wouldn't do it with a kid.  A third floor would be a snap.

[waffletime]

I live on the fourth floor. We didnt want any one above us. I just think of the stairs as extra cardio, lol. We do have an elevator, but it's on the complete opposite side of the building, so I only use it if I think I physically can't get my groceries up three flights of stairs. I can usually do it in one trip up the stairs though, we go shopping once a week and it's just the two of us. Making two trips is for the weak.

We have no kids, and only a cat though. It'd be a different story if we had kids or a dog.

[shell24]

We were on the 3rd floor of a 3 floor walk up.  It was fine pre-kids, and even ok with the first, but trying to lug 2 kids under 2 up, plus all the crap, got to be too much.  I wouldn't recommend it if you are planning on staying in the unit for more than one child.  

On the other hand, I felt safest on the top floor, and with my H (a fireman) being gone a lot for 24 hours at a time, that made a difference for me.  

[kaylie]

I always lived in a walk up. Twos years in a 2nd floor and two years in a 4th floor. Both were fine, even when I was terribly out of shape. I wouldn't be too worried about it.

[FloFTW]

I lived on the 4th floor and it was fine. But that was in Florence, Italy so it was kinda worth it.

I could do 2nd floor with kids. Third floor...not so sure.

[Velar Fricative]

We just sold a second-floor apartment a few months ago; we lived there for 8 years. Grocery shopping and doing laundry weren't ideal but we managed (and took advantage of Fresh Direct after a while!). It did get harder with a baby; she was almost 1 when we moved out. We had to make sure we got the right kind of stroller, etc. that would be easier to haul down.

But without kids? No problem. I did live in a third floor walkup too but really wouldn't want to do that again.

[CityLights]

I lived in a 5th floor walk up for a year. That was a bit much, especially since laundry was in the basement.

I currently live on the 2nd floor and it's so much better in comparison. However, my butt does not look as good.

[Nonny]

I technically lived in a 3rd floor walkup, in the sense that we were on the 3rd floor, but the building was on a weird hill, so to get to our apartment we had to go down an outside set of stairs (PNW so lots of rain) and then up one flight of covered stairs.

No kids, but it wasn't too bad for groceries because my H and I would go shopping together and with two of us it was usually only one trip. We had a W/D in our unit, so we didn't have to deal with going anywhere for that. I really didn't even give it much thought at the time.

I'm sure I'd be much more annoyed with it now.

[Deleted]

We lived in a 3rd floor walk up. I couldn't imagine having anyone over my head. Even being on the top floor, I could still hear the people below and beside me. Depending on if the right person is living above makes a HUGE difference.

I hate hearing neighbors. I was 'one of those' who called the police all the damn time. Just thinking about the shit I went through is making my blood pressure rise.

[gretchenindisguise]

We are on the second floor.

We are moving next week.

It's been a pain in our asses to get stuff in and stuff out since A was born. It was manageable before he came along.

[gozf]

I lived in a 5th floor walk up when I lived in NYC. It was kinda rough, but I had a great ass and never set foot in the gym. that might have had more to do with the fact that I was 22-24 years old, though.

[Deleted]

It's the worst idea ever.

[wannabe]

I lived on the 3rd floor when I left the ex. It was a pain in the ass lugging groceries and stuff upstairs, but nothing was worse than the time I bought furniture and had to move it upstairs all by myself at like 11:00.

Oh man. I wish I had video of that shit. It had to have been hilarious to watch.

[fangoriagurkel]

I lived on a 4th floor with no lift. I got good at maximizing trips and my legs and bottom never looked better. If you love everything else about it, go with your gut!

[janegold]

Yes, 2nd floor. It's nbd but we were careful when we bought to evaluate whether there would be space to leave, for example, a stroller or bike in the lobby. (We do also have a freight elevator in the building which was nice for moving or big things.)

[Cioccolato]

4th floor, it sucks..it really sucked when i was pregnant now it sucks with a baby.

[speckledfrog]

We did the second floor (it was three flights in the back due to sloping) and it was fine. No kids. Groceries weren't a big deal, but I would load a ridiculous amount of bags onto my arms and stagger up the stairs. ONE TRIP ONLY!

ETA:  I just remembered that we did most of our grocery shopping together back then.  I have no idea why.  MH goes on his own now.

[macmars45]

H and I lived in a 2nd floor walk up for 5 years. No kids.

Another thing to consider is injures. During our last year there I sprained my ankle and H had knee surgery. It was horrendous going up and down two flights of stairs on crutches. We agreed never again would we live in a place with stairs before you get to the front door OR to get to a living area eg spilt entry homes.