Yep. Everyone here keeps saying I'm putting down owning. In the main thread this all started in I said flat out I don't put down ownership if that's your thing.  Then worms went full attack on me for renting and the rest have been jumping in all over the place. So I played along if that's the route they want to take. What I do is this lifestyle and it fits my girl friend and I. I just recently resigned from my job after 21 years but before that we both were making excellent income (she still is) with not having had any debt. She's never had debt and I haven't had any since 2003 and that was minor.  We love our place. The management is superior. They don't allow anyone to rent if they make less that $100k a year, and the maintenance is stellar. Where we live the rent is less than property taxes for many of the homes down the street from us. And equal to the taxes of other homes nearby as well.  We have  both made over 6 figures each for at least the past 12 years or so, and we choose to put our money in other investments and it's been working out for us. And we aren't stuck in this location if we want to up and go. So far we have moved 3 times in the past 15 years for various reasons, and enjoy not having the weight of buying or selling over our heads if we want to go somewhere else.  I swear, some of the people on this site reacted in only a way someone would react if they feel embarrassed about themselves and their lifestyles. Very guarded or insecure of something the way they attacked this subject.