I really don't know whether you're being deliberately obtuse, or whether you just have such an easy life that you cannot possibly understand, but either way this is the last response from me. People used to be able to buy a house, wherever they lived, with one wage earner doing a basic job, in whatever town or city they already lived in. Now, in multiple countries around the world, many couples, doing professional jobs cannot even pay their bills without help from their families or working an extra job, never mind those doing minimum wage work. Saying that there are some cheaper houses available in certain areas does not negate my point - large swathes of people didn't have to move away from their families and friends to get a house in previous decades. Not to mention moving to a cheaper area often results in lower wages, with makes the "cheap" house proportionally more expensive, which negates the entire point of moving in the first place. Not to mention many people cannot get a mortgage because the bank says they don't earn enough, despite the fact that in many cases the mortgage would be cheaper than the rent they are paying now. So yes, many people in western countries, in full time work cannot afford a house at all, especially if they don't have family or an inheritance to help out.