I used to be of the same opinion as you, but there are actually some good counter arguments: 1) Two week day/night cycle: This means it would be hard to power

I used to be of the same opinion as you, but there are actually some good counter arguments: 1) Two week day/night cycle: This means it would be hard to power your base with solar energy. You'd need massive battery banks. Or another power source. You could try nuclear, but cooling might be a challenge without air or water. Mars has a slightly longer day than earth, which makes solar power much more viable (though solar insolation is less than on earth) 2) No atmosphere, so all Oxygen has to be brought in (unless we find it somewhere else on the Moon). Also any carbon needed to grow plants needs to be brought in. Mars has a thin atmosphere, but we could get Oxygen and Carbon from it. 3) It's not clear if we can find water on the moon. Mars almost certainly has water underground, and for sure at the pole. 4) The lower gravity might have long term effects on humans. Though to be fair, we don't know if Mars gravity will be harmful as well.