Should I buy a house?

The simple answer to this is no, I shouldn't.

People have a preconceived notion of things they should be doing. Buying a house, living in the suburbs, having children, having a picket fence, these are things that we are taught from the beginning to think we should have. But why? Is this really the smart thing for us to do? Do the same values that led people to have these beliefs still hold true?

No. On all accounts. At least, from my perspective. And it doesn't work for my lifestyle, and most likely never will.

Buying a house is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. You are (in most cases) going to sign a mortgage that will be for at least 30 years. This means you should be devoted to living in that house, working in that area for at least five years. Most people I know can't be too certain of their future with a specific job for that long. Is your company going to continue to grow? Will they require you to relocate? Will they have to downsize? Are they always going to be as stable as they are now? Most of these questions are impossible for you to answer. In my case, I know that I get tired of living on one place for more than a couple years. Part of this is due to the fact that I grew up as a military child and was constantly moving, so I like to be able to start fresh. Not necessarily to a new state, but at least to a new home. I get tired of being in the same place for extended periods of time and I need a change. So does it really make sense for me to sign a mortgage for 30 years when I know that I will not be living there for more than five? For any person that has a job that requires them to relocate, does it really make sense for them? And as depressing as it is to think about, people aren't going to work for a company for their entire life. Do we really want to lock ourselves into only one small area of potential jobs by owning a home? 

The experts all say that real estate is a good investment, but we all saw what happened to the housing market in 2008 when houses that people bought at $500,000 suddenly were only worth $200,000. Yes, part of that is due to the facts that banks and people got greedy. People bought houses they couldn't afford, banks were lending money they didn't really have to people that couldn't pay it back. And BOOM. The crash hit. Houses were almost worthless. So no, the housing market is not the safe place it was once thought to be. Small changes can have a big impact and the house you bought for $500,000 can suddenly lose more than half of its value, even if you did nothing wrong. Yes, there is risk with any investing, but is it really the smartest decision to believe the tactics of real estate agents that talk about how houses will only go up?

People look down on renting, but is it really that bad? People tend to think of renting as something you do in your youth, before you "grow up". Owning a house means that something is actually "yours". It is your home. But wait... That mortgage you signed, that means the bank owns it. So, really, you're just choosing to rent from a bank as opposed to most landlords. And where as with actually renting a house/apartment/condo/box on the corner, the landlord is going to do all of the large upkeep, this is now your job. You now have to worry about landscaping, especially if there's an HOA involved. You now have to worry about electrical problems. You now have to worry about plumbing. You now have to worry about climate control. You now have to worry about structural problems. You now have to make sure the roof over your head doesn't blow away in a terrifying storm. Then there's the taxes... I know how much everyone loves paying their taxes, so people wont be too upset when they find another tax bill in their mailbox. You also have to pay more for your insurance. Yes, most people are required to have renter's insurance, but the rates are almost nothing for the security of knowing your belongings are safe. For a house... Not so cheap. But hey, at least when you own a home, it's yours. Oh that's right, it's not. It is the bank's house.

I don't know where I will be in ten years. Hell, I can't say where I'll be in a year. Will I still like my job? Will my job still like me? Will my husband still have the same job? Will he be in the same city? Are we going to want to live in the city for the rest of our lives? Is the housing market going to recover? Are we going to be in a place in our lives to buy a house? I don't know.

But I like that. I like not knowing. It makes life more interesting.