<prompt> Human: Is renting really the only option when you know you wont be staying in the area in the future? 2-3 years. My husband and I want to move to a new city to finish school. It is the only school that provides a good in-state program for our majors, but the rent in said city is too damn high because of the university. Unless, of course, were willing to sacrifice some safety and comfort and live in higher crime areas, which it is starting to look that way.We will both be working earning 3500-4000 a month. Our rent is looking to increase 200-300month to have the same level of comfort we have now in an apartment or 400-500month for a house when you factor in extra bills. Were curious to know if perhaps theres something we dont know or havent explored.  <response>: Just curious where you got the 400-500month for a house figure from. Thats very little if it also includes all the extra costs associated with homeownership. Do you have a 20 downpayment? Have you factored in closing costs? What about the fact that for the first several years of a mortgage, almost all your payments go toward interest? Then you lose 6 right off the bat to realtor fees when you try to sell. What if you need to replace the roof? What if the values go down and youre underwater on the house in 2-3 years? If you need to sell in 2-3 years, youd almost assuredly lose money on the sale and it will guaranteed be way more hassle than just renting. If you dont plan to sell when you move, then you have the second job of managing a rental property remotely and possibly losing money on the rental property every month. 