Yard work, gutter cleaning, power washing exterior, cleaning windows, bi-annual HVAC service, exterior paint (especially if the house has any wood) and trim upkeep.

And as the house ages, you get things like repainting interior rooms, more frequent plumbing issues, major HVAC repairs, roof replacement, repaving driveway, electrical upgrades, remodeling, etc.

We downsized to a townhome to avoid some of that (half the walls are shared, so no exterior upkeep for those; smaller yard; fewer rooms).

You could just not do any of that stuff. Most people don't power wash their exterior or clean their windows. They don't call in hvac service, maybe just change the furnace or ac filter and probably plenty don't even know to do that. Exterior paint has become pretty rare in places that see weather but even then you can let it go to hell. Plenty do. Maybe some trim board will rot. Ehh. Priced in probably already when you bought it with that. Driveway you can also let go to hell, plenty of people use actual gravel or dirt. Roof replacement, plenty of people let that go too long. Repainting interiors, again something you don't have to ever do.

Is it good to do these maintenance items? Sure. But also, the house isn't going to come down if they aren't done. You go around your city right now you will find very few homes are actually upkept to this level. Most see the bare minimum to avoid the city fining you for the grass being too long, and many are sold in whatever state they are in.

If you have a big enough yard, yard work in itself is a constant stream of work even if you have all the right equipment

To add to the list: Replacing bad wood, pest service, aging appliances, fence maintenance, septic emptying (depending on your location), flooring wear and replacement, grouting and caulking, pest control, exterior cleaning, etc.

It can occasionally feel like an endless stream of tasks.