Rent for my 1 bedroom/1 bath, 1000 sq ft. loft in SF: $3200 Mortgage for my 2 bed/1 bath, 1200 sq ft. home in Oak: $1900* We had to pay ~$70k in closing costs,

Rent for my 1 bedroom/1 bath, 1000 sq ft. loft in SF: $3200 Mortgage for my 2 bed/1 bath, 1200 sq ft. home in Oak: $1900* We had to pay ~$70k in closing costs, so it isn't /easy/ to just go and buy something, but one possible lesson is that if you spend your whole life renting you are subject to the whims of your landlord (especially if you don't have rent control) and could end up paying a lot more for a place to live then you would if you had bought. Of course, the buy to rent numbers alternate back and forth depending on market conditions, so that doesn't hold true all the time. * - Lots of confounding variables here though. SF vs. Oakland, $650 a month for property taxes aren't accounted for in the monthly mortgage cost. But we have a 40'x 50' yard, a garage, no shared walls, easier parking, etc. So it's an individual choice, but even all in my house is much cheaper than an equivalent rental unit in SF (maybe even if you factor in a new roof every 20 years, other maintanence, etc...at least in these market conditions.)