<prompt> Human: Ive been working out of state and away from my Family for a long time now, and finally got a job offer to go back home with a 25 raise up to 106kyr, and better benefits and what not Whoo hoo!Problem is, renting vs buying in the area seems all out of whack. Where Im coming from, renting is far easier and less expensive than buying. Where Im going, it seems to be the exact opposite. Ive got about 30k saved up specifically for buying a house, but I wasnt prepared to buy so quickly, and was hoping to build that up to 50 or 60k in a 1-2 years for a bigger home.Now Im up against a wall where it seems far cheaper even tacking on an extra 15-20 to the mortgage cost to get a 140 or 150k starter house than it would be to rent. Ifwhen I accept, Ill basically be moving in a month, and I get a free 5 day houseapt hunting trip. Is that enough time to make a decision?  <response>: How close are you to your family? IMO, Id always rent when moving to a new location, unless youre already familiar with the area.Places to avoid, places up and coming, schools if you have children, traffic congestion, and so on. These are all things that make living in a specific area desirable, or undesirable. Unless youre already aware of what you wantdont want, even paying a little more for the first year while renting makes sense. 