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Original poster

Buying a house on a steep hill

38 replies

itsalways · 27/05/2025 16:42

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at a house that's up on a hill, very close to the town centre, so ideally I'd want to walk in and out rather than drive as parking is expensive and a bit of a nightmare.

The views are great, and the location is really appealing but… I'm a bit concerned about the steepness of the hill.

To give you an idea, it’s roughly the equivalent of walking up 16 flights of stairs over a distance of about three football fields. That said, the steepest part is right at the start, about half the climb is packed into the first quarter of the walk and then it flattens out a bit.

I’ve lived on a hill with a similar height difference before, and while it was manageable, it was less steep overall. Even then, I found it tiring and that was a few years ago when I was a bit younger and fitter!

My worry is that it will put me off walking into town, which defeats the point of living close to the centre.

What do you think? A deal-breaker or something you get used to?

OP posts:
TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 27/05/2025 16:45

I think it might begin to annoy me over time, and I also wonder what it would be like on a very icy morning.

DisforDarkChocolate · 27/05/2025 16:46

I'd think of it as a way to keep active.

babystarsandmoon · 27/05/2025 16:47

I wouldn’t mind the walking but I would worry about skidding down it in winter.

EmpressaurusKitty · 27/05/2025 16:51

As well as what it would be like when slippery, have you tried walking up it carrying a load of shopping?

Kattley · 27/05/2025 16:52

I live up a steep hill about half a mile from town. As I’ve got older I can no longer walk it! Upsides are views and no flooding but personally I’m looking for somewhere flatter.

Feelingstrange2 · 27/05/2025 16:52

I've lived on a very very steep hill in Cornwall for over 30 years. I've walked it, run it, hobbled it over the years. It never gets any easier - you just go slower or faster!

The views are our payback.

I never regret it until I'm at the bottom looking up! By the time I get home the endorphins have kicked in.

So, yes, still being here 30 years later, I think I can say it wouldn't put me off. Although I rarely walk it with shopping. My husband actively parks at work and walks for exercise

You would imagine getting old wouldn't be fun but, quite honestly, we've had loads of elderly neighbours over the years and, however surprisingly, they still walk/ed the hill.

So, if you have to carry heavy stuff, no. Hate exercise, no. Otherwise, wouldn't bother me.

(PS you also don't get door to door religions or salesmen! Unless they are training for a iron-man. 😆)

FuzzyPuffling · 27/05/2025 17:07

Get a shopping trolley on wheels and /or a backpack.

Original poster
itsalways · 27/05/2025 17:09

It would be a pain if it was icy but I'd hope the council would salt the paths. If not, there's a slightly less steep route following the road but thats a fair bit longer.

Good point, carrying a bag of shopping would make it far worse. I'm in my thirties now but in future it would be more difficult.

Maybe I'll carry two bags of shopping up the hill at the weekend. 😂

OP posts:
Mischance · 27/05/2025 17:18

Don't do it! .... we had a house on a hill ... fine. Then I broke my foot badly and OH was found to have Parkinsons Disease .... what a disaster. We had to move.
It might be fine now but you need to have a bit of an eye to the future.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 27/05/2025 17:28

I'd see this as a benefit!

Tooteefrootee · 27/05/2025 17:31

Used to live on a similar hill...and we just got on with it in the end! Even when I was heavily pregnant and post-partum.

Caspianberg · 27/05/2025 17:38

We live at the top of a steep hill. It’s 1km uphill.
It is steep, and has been a workout with pram over the years. But it’s fine. Keeps me fit, and Ds now 5 years flys up it easily.

Visitors half die walking up and declare never again, but our neighbour is 88years, lived here since a child and is fit as a fiddle and marches up and down daily

dudsville · 27/05/2025 17:54

I used to live on a steep hill. I thought I was fit until I moved there. It took me a little while to be able to walk up it without trying to pretend I wasn't dying for lack of air. Once I conquered that, I was good, BUT I was so glad when I finally moved to a flat street years later. I chose a house that went across the hill rather than up and down it - I viewed one house that was on the up/down bit of the hill and my first thought was that I'd be coming home at the end of the day, perhaps with shopping, put my stuff down to open the door and then watch my stuff go traipsing down the hill. SO that is my only advice - can you find a street that goes across it?

Feelingstrange2 · 27/05/2025 18:00

Re ice. Our hill isn't gritted. We had our salt bucket removed about 10 years ago and not replaced. We don't have pavements...some cobbles but people own them so tend to use them to park (very small) cars on.

If its icy its treacherous but we don't go out until its defrosted. It sort of stops you making silly decisions.

We did have a fatal accident one year....but not on the hill....in another part of town where people had pushed driving too early when they shouldn't have and lost control on a far far less steep road.

Thinking about it - if you have to ask, perhaps it's not for you. It's easy for me to say but I was 27 when I moved in here. Its sort of embedded in my psyche now.

TheCurious0range · 27/05/2025 18:04

Is there a bus? I used to live at the top of a steep hill, it was fine most of the time but on occasion if I had something heavy to bring back from town I'd curse it. There was no bus, if there was to just on occasion that would've been fine.
My thighs and calves were in great shape though! I didn't have a car at the time.

Puffthemagicdragongoestobed · 27/05/2025 18:05

We once rejected a house for exactly this reason. Views were amazing though and DH regrets to this day!

PencilsInSpace · 27/05/2025 18:11

I live on a steep hill and I love it.

The only thing I would be cautious about is if it's a terrace or semi detached and sits at a significantly lower level than the attached property, check for any signs of damp in the ground level adjoining corners.

Hope that makes sense!

Lonelycrab · 27/05/2025 18:17

If you like the place I wouldn’t let it put you off. You’re in your 30’s, and will get fitter living there, which can never be a bad thing for any of us.

Rellotello · 27/05/2025 18:18

On that blue zones programme (Netflix) I seem to remember that several of the communities were on a hill so that was linked to their advanced age. Wouldn’t put me off, get walking and you’ll live longer!

Getmoveon14 · 27/05/2025 18:59

I remember steep hills featured in one of the Blue Zones. If you start walking up a hill regularly in your 30s I'm sure it will contribute to a long life!

Sidebeforeself · 27/05/2025 19:01

itsalways · 27/05/2025 17:09

It would be a pain if it was icy but I'd hope the council would salt the paths. If not, there's a slightly less steep route following the road but thats a fair bit longer.

Good point, carrying a bag of shopping would make it far worse. I'm in my thirties now but in future it would be more difficult.

Maybe I'll carry two bags of shopping up the hill at the weekend. 😂

I would forget about banking on the council salting the paths if I were you!

InPraiseOfIdleness · 27/05/2025 19:01

Kattley · 27/05/2025 16:52

I live up a steep hill about half a mile from town. As I’ve got older I can no longer walk it! Upsides are views and no flooding but personally I’m looking for somewhere flatter.

You can get flooding on a steep slope as water runs down in heavy rain, going straight through the house. 😬

SlightlyFurther · 27/05/2025 19:15

I also live at the top of a steep hill close to the city centre, with no bus route (road too narrow). It keeps me fit. it also keeps me from shopping too much…

Original poster
itsalways · 28/05/2025 12:26

Thanks all. Its very helpful. There's no buses unfortunately.

I probably should have said the shortest route has steps a fair number of steps.

OP posts:
Caspianberg · 28/05/2025 13:15

We also have step shortcuts here. I use them a lot. The only think is I couldn’t use them with pram and in winter the steps are slippery if wet ( but ours are rough wood in hillside steps, not stone)

Never been stranded and we get loads of snow every winter