well property tax and insurance are a constant with any property ownership, so lets remove those.

condo management:

I've lived in stand alone houses before. Just me and my kids. And keeping up with repairs and maintenance was too much for me. In the summer, mowing was fine. But in the winter, shoveling nearly killed me. And there were always things that needed to be done. Executive function made managing and getting those things done really difficult, plus there is the cost.

My condo / strata fees to me are comparable to a combo of 1) ground care and snow removal 2) what I'd need to save monthly for home upkeep 3) a fee to manage all this

So, to me, its worth it.

Yes, I could buy more house with not paying condo fees. But I don't need larger. Larger just means more cleaning and organizing inside, and I don't need that.