Yes, it isn't owning anything really, which is why I would rather the house over an apartment of the same value. My friend will probably look to have a family one day, so will have to move again anyway :)

I didn't end up renting for "too long" but long enough. I came to Finland with nothing though, so had to build from scratch and it has taken a lot of time and effort to even get this far.

Doing things differently... A few small tweaks ad everything changes to a extreme. Wouldn't be bad to try.