<prompt> Human: Apologies if these sort of questions get asked all of the time, im just terrible with finances.So im in the market to move. I was originally looking for a smaller single family home close to where i work, but the price for housing in my area has gone up drastically over the past few years. These smaller homes are being bought up then torn down to build 750,000 homes. What used to run for under 100k is now selling up towards 300k.Condos are no better, the cheapest ones i can find sit at around 130k.Ive been looking into apartments but i hate the idea of renting. In the long run youre just throwing your money away. Now the average for a 1 bedroom in my area goes for 1100, with the lowest end being around 850, which is in my range. I could also go for a mobile home in one of the more upscale parks in the area. These go for around 20 to 40k, and there is no lot rent for the first two years. My understanding is that these homes quickly diminish in value over time, and im not sure which option would offer better results. Not having to pay lot rent for two years would result in paying a third of what i would pay for an apartment, and i could get a roommate and ultimately make double payments towards a mortgage.To give you guys an idea of what i have to work with, i make 16.50 an hour, get overtime with roughly 50 to 70 hours a week. Im looking at finishing out this year just over 40k before taxes. My monthly income could be any where between 2500 to 3500 depending on the ot worked. By this time next year i could be sitting as high as 25 an hour with the same amount of overtime. I could move a bit further south into the city for cheaper homes or rent, but having to drive 30 miles a day to work as opposed to 5 to 10 miles a day makes it seem like i would be losing roughly the same amount of money.  <response>: As someone whos in real estate, if its absolutely between the two, I would rent an apartment. Mobile homes sound like a cheap alternative, however theyre the only type of housing that actually goes down in value and theyre very difficult to sell. So between the two choices, it makes the most fiscal sense for you to rent. 