Ask Lemmy

That's the norm in most urban centers in Europe. Houses are older than elevators, there's no space for a refit, and rebuilding them from scratch is often not feasible due to the time and cost involved.

I didn't particularly mind it though. Been living anywhere from 2nd to 5th floor without one, and it's perfectly fine.

We also don't buy truckloads of groceries as it works in the US apparently, but pick up stuff we need for the evening or next day on the way back from work, and that's that. I hardly ever broke a sweat from shopping.

Honestly, doing laundry in the basement when I lived on the 3rd floor was the most annoying part of having no elevator.

I used to work in public health in NYC. I got to see all the people comign into the hospital. The elderly folks who had lived their whole lives on the higher floors of walkup apartments were almost always in great shape compared to their contemporaries who weren't getting exercise every day.

It used to annoy me when I still had a car, because I had to carry up a lot more groceries at once and I was an unfit sack of shit. Now I walk to the store every three days or so, meaning the weight is a lot less at once and it's just a minor extension of my evening walk...

Fine for living without children.

But moving in and out was a lot of work.