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.
@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.