<prompt> Human: First thanks in advance for any comments yall have.Situation: Im 28 and engaged to be married this summer. We currently live together in Chicago in a 1 bedroom apartment. Since we started living together we have started a savings account in order to save up for a downpayment on a house.We both work, with combined incomes of roughly 100k shes supposed to be getting a raise but Im not gonna count on it.For the past year or so weve basically been able to save her entire salary, with my salary going to expenses. We currently have about 60k saved up for a downpayment on a house. We want to have kids in about 3 years 2 of them and once the oldest is ready to go to school we would like to be in the suburbs where there are good schools north burbs where I grew up. So we basically have 3-5 years to continue to save up for a downpayment on a house. This will obviously put us in great shape to afford something in the 400k range with putting at least 20 down.However, she wants to move into a bigger apartment in a nicer area in Chicago, meaning our rent will go from 1300 to about 1650-1900month. The question I have is would it be worth it to buy a nice condo in a good area for say 250-300k where we could put 20 down in the city, hold it for 3-5 years while enjoying the perks of being in a nicer place, then sell it when were ready for the burbs?Im a finance guy, so I realize theres definitely some downside risk to this move. If the value depreciates and we have to sell for less then our next mortgage gets even more expensive. As a home buying newbie, what are the financial calculations I need to be making to see if renting vs buying makes sense? I know there would be interest expense on a mortgage, also condo association fees, plus property taxes. Are those the only dead money items Id have to weigh vs a rent expense? I do realize interest expense is tax deductible, but it may not be worth it to itemize since we dont really have any other deductible items.Thanks for any insight.  <response>: It is possible to be on the upside depending on the quality of the condo and the development in the area. Other things are to consider if there are jobs and schools near by for your future buyers. We were lucky to get in on a condo at market low on a highly desired area and it has appreciated 60 its original value from two years ago. Make sure you go through their association meeting notes and check for possible future assessments you could be on hook for major repairs with cost shared to all residents. 