Reply to Validate my view that long-term renting is a valid lifestyle choice

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a renter by necessity since I've moved around so much for work, now staying in the DC area for the long term and wondering this myself. I'm happy enough renting and can't really afford a townhome or SFH with the commute I want here currently, suspicious of condos as not much of an improvement on renting financially or in quality of life terms, but concerned that rents are going to rise faster over time than my salary while home prices also rise faster than my savings ability. I'm really not aure what the right answer is, keep renting for the lifestyle or buy somewhere far out and hate it for the sake of security.[/quote]

Here’s the problem - you’re living in an area you can’t afford.  You say you can’t afford to own with the commute you want.  But farther out is where you should probably be living given your financials.  Yes, rents will keep going up over time and eventually you’ll be a renter FOR LIFE.  If you want to be financially responsible, you should rent a cheaper place farther out and sock away money.  [/quote]

NP.

I strongly disagree with your premise.

[b]I live in a super-HCOL city and we choose to rent towards the center since we can't afford the down payment to own. [/b]Plus we move around a lot. We ARE saving and arguably more so as we don't have to worry about expensive repairs or renovations. Obviously we could save more if we accepted longer commutes, but we have young kids and our time with them is precious. We also value walkability and don't currently own a car.

We are approaching 40 and have never owned and have no plans to move to a cheaper city because that's where the lucrative job opportunities are. We talk about buying a "dream home" at some point once we decide where that would be. [/quote]

So you’re leasing the more expensive car because you can’t afford to buy it.  You can’t afford to buy because you are spending too much on rent to save up a downpayment!  If you can’t save up a downpayment, you aren’t really saving by renting.  You’re living beyond your means.  I did the same thing for three years - rented a nice apartment.  Looking back I realize I couldn’t really afford it.  I should have been living in a smaller apartment or less expensive neighborhood.  If the only way you can live in a neighborhood is to rent - you can’t afford it!  Just like if the only way you can buy a 5 series is to lease it...you can’t afford it.

Fwiw I also don’t drive a car around and value walkabikity.  [/quote]

What’s an S-series? A car is totally different than a home.

We are saving, just not specifically for a downpayment because the buying is not the goal. Our goal is to enjoy where we live and have a good work-life balance. We will have enough for a down payment, maybe even a whole house, when we are ready.

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