<prompt> Human: So my fiance and I have been wanting to buy an apartment in NYC for a while but everywhere we look it doesnt seem worth it for what you get. Our max budget would be 800k and we can get a two bedroom in our desired neighborhood with that amount. The problem is with Co-op fees that comes out to 160k down and 4000mo. We pay 2800 a month now in rent and were in a rent-stabilized building landlord can only raise our rent 50 each year per terms of lease.Weve started looking at weekend homes upstate that would be on a lake and have found some nice ones for 300k. Does it make more sense to buy a weekend home? We are thinking we can use it around 20 weekends a year and rent it out the rest of the time.Our take home is around 12k a month.What am I missing about buying a vacation home  <response>: Im in a similar boat - living in NYC, happily living in a similarly-priced apartment and facing the same conundrum. While it seems superfluous to put money towards a vacation home when Im not yet a homeowner, I dont think its as simple as that - not in this market, at least.The way I look at it is, what do you want? Dont look at this as an investment - maybe some day it will be, but for the next 5-10 years itll just be a purchase. Are you looking for a forever home? Then you should put money towards something in the city. Are you looking for a vacation home? Then you should put money towards something else. As long as youre comfortable spending the amount it costs to have both, then follow your heart. Dont look at it as an investment - look at it as a purchase.Id also recommend taking a hard unemotional look at the realities of renting out the property. What weekends will you want it, and what is the going cost and of time itll go unoccupied for the rest of the time? How much time and effort will it require for you to maintain to the level acceptable to vacationers? Ive gone through the exercise a few times - sometimes in the Catskills, sometimes near but not in the Poconos, and always end up at the same conclusion: either its my vacation home and a money sink or its my investment property and a time sink that provides some cash flow. Its never been a good trade off for me vs renting a home a few weekends a year, but your scenario sounds like a much more frequent user than mine. 