Come to my age,
Oh! To me, you come across as linguistically young. I am a man considered obese by BMI from the late 60s with decreasing joint mobility, but fortunately and to the astonishment of doctors and orthopedists without health deterioration. I take the 11m height difference over 110m path to the mailbox as welcome exercise rather than an obstacle. If it should become a hindrance, the “slope elevator” planned during the house construction might still be tackled. I have an alert on classifieds and hope to find something used with a nice patina and history from viticulture. :)
Climbing the Eiger North Face every day with a child
Well, the path in the picture is neither steep nor long. Your comparison to a flat is quite fitting. I would say the effort is more like going to the 1st floor rather than the 3rd floor.
And it is technically solvable if it starts to become difficult. The easiest is a small electric vehicle. The slope from the garage to the house is still quite flat, so that works.
In Ascona, a cog railway is often built for slopes ranging from “unpleasant” to “very steep,” and if even steeper, an elevator. There are also houses here more defined by luxury and location than practicality. However, they cost so much that I don't have to worry about that.
I remind you of my suggestion after the vacation:
An avatar for the dream house doesn’t have to have a concrete shape. Some people have an avatar for the dream partner and become blind to what fits.
We often look at interesting properties in France. Some have feasible and attractive purchase prices and many question marks regarding energy, renovation/rehabilitation, practicality... And yet it may happen that one day we find a completely unreasonable property that wins our affection at first sight. The idea of buying a little castle and turning it into a residence and cultural center for the village is avatar enough.
Both my wife and I have many impractical “quirks,” some of which were “hidden faults” when we came together, others developed over time. And yet we have lived a good life together for 36 years, with the usual lows, special friction points, but also wonderful intimacy and many shared moments of happiness.
I am convinced it also works with a house—even more loosely, because with a house in the unfortunate case, you can only lose “just” money, and there will always be enough left to keep going.