Stairway to Heaven

I have lived in a lot of houses that have stairs, and as I get older, I have had to worry about the amount and type of stairways involved when looking at a place to live. Ranch houses have been on my "must have" lists lately, but with the availability and higher technology involved with modern stairlifts I can start to change my way of thinking about what I can look for in a home. It would be nice to not have to think about stairs when considering a home. Needing a ranch is okay if you can afford a lot of land for a spread out home, but most homes are fit onto lots and the only way to get floor space is to have it built up and/or down. I've seen the incredible improvements made over the last ten years in lifts and feel like they are a very good way to combat the stairs problem, even with outside stairs going into a home, which is also an issue I have had to watch for in the past. Considering the fact that we are looking for a new place and want to move in the next four to five years, it is a big deal to not have to worry about stairs in the list of things a home must have (or not have).