I think a few of us here are about the same age. I'm in my early 40's now, but the mid 40's are right around the corner. Something I thought about when renovating our current place was, how's this gonna work if we're lucky enough to grow really old here? I went through renovating a really big house for my parents because my dad could no longer climb stairs. Luckily their house is huge, so it was simply a matter of converting an unused living room into a bedroom and building a big (wheelchair accessible) bathroom on the main floor. Cost us about $450 in doors, and about $6000 in bathroom finishes and reno work, and a bunch of sweat equity. This was a good enough solution, compared to installing a lift (those guys are criminals) or the financial and emotional cost of moving them. They liked their neighborhood, it's close to everyone we know. The downside is that they effectively turned their huge house into a bungalow, and no one ever went up or down the stairs. It's fine because they have us (adult children) nearby (same neighborhood) to fetch out the seasonal items, and look after the winterizing and HVAC bits, but I don't know if I'd like having areas of my house I couldn't get to if I was on my own. Hopefully that's all too far off to worry about, but maybe because it was all so intense while it was happening, it was really in my head every time we went to see a property, and I left one room that could become a main floor bedroom and large bath when we created an otherwise open concept main floor.
Some things I'd do in another build: Large bathroom, fully lined with floor drain. Essentially making the whole thing one large walk-in shower just in case I ever have to haul my dirty ass in there using a walker or worse. Large doorways/passageways - same reason. Bungalow, because... well see parents experience above. Kitchen against one wall and some thought to the table/island in case work surfaces of various heights are required. Two car garage with direct access to interior - no need to trudge over ice/snow, or other trip and fall hazards. Basically something I could live in until I'm 110, with the right amount of Cialis
