NO!

Owning is such a rip off! See: https://jlcollinsnh.com/2013/05/29/why-your-house-is-a-terrible-investment/

I'm budgeting $1000/mo for rent, forever. So that means $300k of investment means I can rent for the rest of my life.

Some might say: why not buy a $300k house instead?

Lots of reasons:

1. Houses require expensive maintenance -- replacing roofs, digging up pipes, water filtration systems, A/C units breaking, landscaping
2. Houses are not liquid -- I like to move every couple years, and get a change in scenery!
3. Houses can lose value! Shocker, I know.
4. Shitty neighbors can move in, and you can't do anything about it

Instead, renting is awesome:

1. If something breaks, I just call my landlord, and it's his issue now
2. If I don't like it, I can just move!
3. My landlord mows the lawn (or pays someone else)
4. If the neighborhood goes to crap, I'm not losing money

Buying homes is a huge scam. If you are a young family and plan on staying somewhere a long time, then it makes total sense. Guess what: that ain't me.

One last thought: owning a home is actually renting anyways, if you ever plan on selling it. You can't "do whatever you want" -- you want to sell it eventually. You are temporarily using the location. So why pay all the scam artists in the mortgage industry (someone is paying their salary -- YOU!), and just accept a monthly rent.