Question from Mary
I am living in a second floor apartment which meets my needs in many ways but I need to consider moving for a number of reasons and a ground floor apartment makes more sense because of my age, chronic fatigue, previous leg injury, etc.
I have felt that being on the second floor is safer in terms of having less pesticide residue, car exhaust fumes, etc. I have reasoned that pollutants are diluted by the time they reach the second story. Do you agree?
One option would be to look for an apartment complex with an elevator, not my preference.
Another option would be to look for a townhouse, but I would have to have one of those indoor lifts installed in order to go up the stairs. Has anyone had experience with one of those? It seems like they have some sort of motor. Would it put out fumes from lubricants or whatever?
Thanks, Debra, for this wonderful website and to everyone who contributes!
Debra’s Answer
I agree that a second floor apartment is better for all the reasons you state.
I once lived in a ground floor condo and vowed to never do that again. However, that said, I do live in a “ground floor” house. The difference to me is that in this house, which I own, I have control over pesticide spraying and it is on a quiet street so there is no car exhaust.
So I wouldn’t rule out a ground floor entirely. Look around in the outside environment and see if you can find one that isn’t offensive.
