Don't fall into the house trap unless you are certain a house is important for your quality of life. We have a house, and while it works well for us, it is a pain in the butt. You don't realize how awesome the perks of renting can be (bundled utilities, repairs/upgrades covered or managed by the owner, ability to move relatively easily) until you no longer have them. With a house, you aren't just paying the mortgage - you are also socked with property taxes, increased utilities, lawn/yard maintenance expenses, and you have to pay for every single thing that breaks or needs to be replaced. And moving is a complete nightmare because few of us want to pay for 2 homes at once.
For us, all of this is worth it because we really value our private outdoor space. Shared condo complex green spaces, tiny balconies, or rented properties that we could be easily ousted from just don't work well with our lifestyle. With 2 big dogs and kids and a desire to garden and do homesteady things, the house, even with its downsides, still is better for us than renting. But if we were city people who weren't particularly attached to owning actual land (and doing weird things on it that most landlords would hate - like filling it with raised vegetable beds and letting poultry run around), renting would probably beat owning.
