owning

On being kicked out of my apartment, or Nothing is unexpected

  Have you ever rented a place, and been very comfortable there, only to receive a voicemail message from your landlord that started like this: “I don’t know how to say this to you, but I just wanted to say … Read MoreRead More

On cultural programming, or why a home is not necessarily a house

  While writing why you probably can’t afford to buy a home, I found myself subconsciously substituting the word “house” for the word “home.” That article, one of the longest I’ve ever written for this site, has the word “home” … Read MoreRead More

Five reasons why you can’t afford to buy a home

  It seems like lots of people I talk to these days are thinking about buying a home. Perhaps it’s the season, or the particular intersection of age and socio-economic background in the circles I travel in. Perhaps it’s coincidence. … Read MoreRead More

How working for someone else is like renting

  I like finding connections between seemingly disparate aspects of our lives. And while thinking about the self-employment-versus-working-for-others issue, I realized that there is an interesting and unlikely connection between the type of job you have and whether you rent … Read MoreRead More

Why renting is better than owning

  I was taught that everyone should eventually own a home.  Actually, like so many of these cultural imperatives, I didn’t so much learn this as much it was absorbed into my head through some kind of osmosis.  Owning is … Read MoreRead More