We tested those gross piles of snow on NYC’s sidewalks. Here’s what we found. – Gothamist
I just needed some reminders from Google AI about the stereotypes of “poor desperate” renters 🏚️
“While homeownership is often touted as the ultimate financial win, I prefer the freedom of my small, affordable city apartment. It allows me to commute via bike or transit and funnel my extra income into both personal and retirement investments. The reality of owning a home—high maintenance costs, expensive heating for a large space, and a likely car-dependent commute—doesn’t appeal to me right now. While I have the capital to buy, I’d rather grow those funds to eventually purchase an off-grid retirement cabin. Despite knowing this is the right path for me, the social media narrative that renting is “shameful” or “throwing money away” is frustratingly persistent.”
The idea that renting is “throwing money away” is a persistent social media myth that ignores the opportunity cost of homeownership. In 2026, renting is often the more strategic financial choice, especially in major U.S. metros where monthly rent remains significantly cheaper than a mortgage. By staying in your inexpensive city apartment and investing your extra cash, you are likely building more wealth than many homeowners.
The Financial Reality of Renting vs. Owning
For many, the “forced savings” of a mortgage is their only path to wealth, but for a disciplined investor, renting can be a superior strategy.
- Monthly Savings: In 49 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, renting a starter home is cheaper than buying one, with average monthly savings exceeding $900 in some areas.
- Asset Performance: Historically, stocks have generated higher returns than housing—averaging roughly 7.6% annually over the long term compared to 5.4% for home values.
- Unrecoverable Costs: While rent is unrecoverable, so are many homeownership costs: mortgage interest, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and maintenance (typically estimated at 1% of home value annually).
- Flexibility & Lifestyle: Renting allows you to avoid the commute-heavy lifestyle of the suburbs, saving on transit costs that often rise faster than inflation.
Homeownership Costs Often Overlooked
Beyond the mortgage, owning a house in 2026 involves several “hidden” financial and personal drains that you are currently avoiding:
| Cost Category | Renter Experience | Homeowner Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Capital | Security deposit (refundable) | 20% down payment + closing costs |
| Monthly Payment | Often lower than mortgage in city centers | Principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI) |
| Maintenance | Zero cost; responsibility of landlord | Annual repairs (roof, HVAC, plumbing) |
| Mobility | Easy to relocate for career or lifestyle | High friction; selling costs (~6% commission) |
| Insurance | Low-cost renter’s insurance | Skyrocketing premiums for property owners |
Countering the “Stigma”
Social media often frames homeownership as the only benchmark of “success,” but modern financial experts view this as a “real estate religion” rather than sound math. Success is not defined by a title deed, but by your net worth and your ability to fund your “Rich Life”—which for you is an off-grid cabin in retirement. If you are using the flexibility of renting to aggressively build financial strength in your investment and retirement accounts, you are not “failing”—you are executing a high-growth strategy that prioritizes long-term goals over social pressure.
My face yesterday was absolutely pock-marked with salt and sand by the time I got into the office 😀
Morning coffee in the office tasted like road salt, though even with the salt-flavored taffy taste, that flavored coffee of week, Chocolate Fudge Coffee was pretty damn good. I wiped the salt off my face but still everything was just so salt encrusted as I sat behind my desk. I guess it’s extreme mental illness, being a sad desperate individual without a ginormous Ford F-350 with the Godzilla. But I thought you wanted to be a millionaire hog farmer when you retired, sitting around all day shoveling manure, smoking dope and singing along with Karen Dalton?
It was a pretty darn quiet day in the office, 🏢 the programmers are still dealing with the library issue and linker so we can’t do the database update 💾 so I’m just twiddling my thumb waiting for the next big project to come in. Spent some time studying my pictures from West Virginia I have hung up in my office. 🖼️ Had that extra cup of chocolate fudge coffee, after coming into the office salt encrusted with wet pant ankles 👖 so yeah, it somewhat negatively impacted my sleep last night. Had lots of pinto beans yesterday, both for lunch and dinner, I kind of over salted them, but whatever.
I guess I’ll ride in today, 🚲 I am a little on the fence as it was so wet yesterday. I don’t love riding Corning Hill but there is still too much snow on the Rail Trail I think so it best to wait until next week. ☔ I am really excited about the possibility of rain come next week. Next Wednesday through Fridy, we might get as much as an inch of rain to melt away a lot of the snow, with several days in the 40s. I wanted to take off half a day next week to look at trucks but maybe not in the pouring rain. Tomorrow, I should ride in because I’ll probably have meetings downtown, but might be colder 🌬️ but yeah, it’s Friday the 13th in February which happens before Valentines Day, ♥️ so yeah I’m kind of paranoid.
Creeping towards the weekend, 😀 a long weekend that should be nice, not too cold and with lots of sun. ☀️ If I still had Big Red on road, I would probably up in Rensselearville or maybe Madison County Horse Camp 🐴 having fires, burning stuff 🔥, smoking dope listening to Country Joe and Fish, and riding my mountain bike slinging mud. 🚲 But I will be stuck home, but that’s fine as I need to run to the store. I should get to Hannaford tonight or maybe tomorrow morning, and get some candy 🍬 to hand out to staff and remind them to sign out of the building 🚒 so that when the fire truck comes, we can tell them not go searching for the lost staff. Next week, I want to do that half day to look at SuperDuty trucks but yeah, I don’t know if that is going to happen with the rain. I certainly don’t want to go in this weekend with all the hyped Presidents Day Sales. I want time to actually look at and test drive a truck, and get an initial out-the-door offer, before I get lots of quotes form dealers.
Please be safe 🙏
Somebody said that to me the other day as they frequently see me riding back and forth to work on Erie Boulevard.
I don’t think Erie Boulevard is that dangerous to ride compared to other city streets like Madison Avenue but I understand people’s concern, especially as the news media always makes a big deal about fatal bicycle crashes but rarely automobile crashes.
I would argue the health benefits to riding to work far exceed any risk of getting hit, especially if the crash is fatal. Feeling good and being healthy now is more important than the risk of death. Diseases that kill you slowly like obesity and diabetes are far more harmful to a life than a fatal crash which is likely to be immediate.
I’ve been bicycle commuting long enough to know all the danger points in my commute and I either try to avoid them or use extra caution by looking twice, reducing speed, and making sure I have good sight lines and visibility on my bike.
