>
>Joanna has made her bias against home ownership pretty clear but I
>just want to chime in that $5K/year must be one hell of an inefficent
>house.
>
I will confess that I live in a rent controlled apartment. I would say
more, but I don't want to tempt the gods by going into the details.
Let's just say that I'm a very happy renter.
I also enjoy living in the sorts of places (Bay area, NYC) where housing prices are exorbitant. A reasonable house in the Bay Area in a reasonable neighborhood is about 700,000. Added to that I have no appetite whatsoever for risk; I am in horror of debt; and I would like to live my whole life without paying any interest to anyone for any reason. Have managed OK so far. All these factors combined makes home ownership a no op for me.
But what makes me most bitter about home ownership in the last twenty years is that it has become the summum bonum of human life in the U.S. Forget justice, freedom, culture, solidarity, etc. If you have managed to get your 3bd/2ba mausoleum, you should feel set for the rest of your life, which you will happily spend decorating and redecorating. There is just something ignoble about that.
Joanna