I wish I owned my own home. You get the short end of the stick from the banks if you don't own any real estate. It's like you're some kind of second-class citizen.
@thor Well, historically speaking, you are. There's a reason landowners had privilege. ;)
How hard is it to acquire a property in Norway? It's quite easy in the US, but I know a number of economies make it difficult to own.
@Combaticus It's not uncommon to own real estate. It's more common than in Sweden and other places. The issue is that I haven't followed a standard life template.
@thor Ah, yes; the standard life template. That's a tricky thing, for sure. And, banks are all about money and the sure bet. So, they tend to look askance at anyone who might seem like a risk. Heck, they'll even give money to folks that won't pay it back as long as the bank can easily seize their assets. But, you have to have assets; like land, which brings us back to your original lament.
@Combaticus It's arguably my own fault. Then again, I didn't get a say in deciding on how I would turn out. Nature and nurture rigged most of that for me in advance, and I have to work with what the proverbial Lord bequeathed upon me.
@thor How badly do you want to own your home? I own mine, meaning I have a mortgage with a bank. The home has equity in it, so I owe less than it's worth. There are a lot of benefits to owning, but there are a LOT of good arguments for not owning. We put a lot of money into the home and I'm not convinced we'll get it all back in the end. Regardless, it's an arrangement that works nicely for us, but it's not for everyone.
@Combaticus Well, if I'm going to be honest with myself: It's a mainly a nice-to-have. From time to time, there are things I can't do because I don't own my residence. On the other hand, if I did own a place, I'd be at the mercy of others for everything. I don't drive and I'm not handy with power tools. An apartment could work, and is probably the only thing I could afford, given my need for a central location with collective transport. However...
@thor No desire to drive?
Too bad you couldn't find some old industrial space in the city that you could convert into a live/work environment. Maybe not the safest but would be cool for a creator to have all that room to do projects and then you've for your bed and refrigerator right there. And, it would be cheep space.
@thor *cheap space, lol.
@Combaticus I have considered something like that. It would of course be highly illegal, and you can't really have an office as a residential address.
I tried my hand at getting a license some 8 years ago, but dropped it due to income stability problems. My income is stable now, but I have stuff to pay down, and also, a bit of an issue with my eyesight on one eye. I had a scooter for a while, and mainly learned that I'm easily distracted.
@Combaticus Had a couple of minor accidents. None of them caused by anything but lapses of attention. Handling things in real-time has never been my forte. Always been better at things I can plan 100% in advance. You can't plan what's going to happen in traffic.
@thor You absolutely can't. There's no telling what the other drivers will do, especially these days when everyone seems to be distracted while driving and feel that they are a law unto themselves. These's something mature about knowing one's limitations.
@Combaticus I just feel a bit irresponsible behind the wheel of a car, like I'm not supposed to be there. If I'm ever going to operate a vehicle, I'd have a ban on children, animals and opening your mouth, and I'd never put on any music. The only way I could drive safely on the scooter was to keep my eyes and thoughts completely fixed on the road. I would always feel exhausted from concentrating so hard after a drive.
@thor Ah. Bummer. We can have mixed space like that here in the US, for the most part. It all depends on local zoning, of course.
@Combaticus I think the closest you'd get to that is a building where there's a business downstairs and a residence upstairs.
@Combaticus I mean, I could always just rent a place somewhere in town to use for my projects, but that's gonna be expensive. I'd need to turn it into a business to make that work.
@Combaticus I couldn't do the things I want with an apartment. I want a hobby room and I want to be able to make a fair bit of noise there, which isn't gonna work in a condo or a townhouse. The only way I'm gonna own a house like that is if it's a bit out in the sticks where it's not expensive, at which point I'm gonna need a driver's license and a car. I'm nowhere near that.