Lmack: nowadays people are tired of throwing money away on mortgage payments! Especially considering that houses are depreciating assets and often houses are worth less than the mortgage debt.

If I were you I’d rent a nice house as close as possible to either your job or your hubby’s job, so that you can get home in minutes if needed. By renting for a couple of years you’ll get to know the neighborhoods, so in 2010 you can decide what’s the best area to buy in. Or you may decide to leave SD after all, the choice is yours and you’ll be free to make it (unlike the poor souls who are “trapped” and can’t sell their houses for what they paid).

My sister and her family (one kid plus another on the way) rented a house, not an apartment, for the last 3 years and were quite happy. Had they bought a house in 2005 they would have lost at least $150K-$200K in equity.

With the new baby coming, and the possibility of grandma staying with them for a few months at a time, they moved to a bigger place. They just signed a two-year lease, and I think that was smart of them.