Definitely don’t move to a rural area, even in NH (obviously).

I live in New Boston which is only 17 miles from Manchester, 21 miles from Nashua and 26 miles from Concord. It’s almost impossible to live here without a car. Even then, the nearest gas station is 20 mins away and the nearest grocery store is 25 mins away.

If something looks truly affordable in this area, research it first because not all towns have accessibility and transportation amenities (at all).

Luckily, I was able to purchase my first home with my gf at 22. Now… a lot of things had to fall into place ‘perfectly’ for this to happen. And surprisingly they all did.

We each pay 1250 a month for mortgage which is slightly under half months pay (one pay check bi weekly). It is really tough, especially when you couple that with electricity, utilities, plowing, groceries, oil/gas/propane heating, and kids/pets if you have them (I only have 2 dogs and they eat a shit ton).

If you look at it this way, you save a lot of money by renting and don’t have to worry about upkeep and any of the above mentioned things. However, the “fact” that it’s impossible to own a home is simply not true.

A lot of these landlords are paying off their mortgage by renting out apartments. Why pay for their mortgage when you can get your own. All in all, I do have a partner to help split the mortgage with, but at least we are building equity and don’t have to deal with rules/annoying neighbors.

Lastly, I have so many friends who say they can’t afford a mortgage when they are literally paying one to rent an apartment. Wait for rates to go back down before shopping for a home.