You don’t have kids, a wife, and a move across a country. It’s not easy. It’s no longer just about “me.” Hell if I was alone I would have bought a studio or a 1 bdrm somewhere in a high rise and be done with it. But now you have to look at the wife’s desires, the kids, their school, etc.
I got offered a temp relocation hotel for 30 days, but without the wife and 2 kids there too, it would have been moot. And if I moved across the country with them, I sure as heck didn’t want to move into a 30 day housing and then pressure ourselves to find a house quickly. I’d rather take it a year or two and make sure we find the right house in the right place, good neighborhood, and good schools.
And btw, your suggestion of just go buy a house, go all in, don’t ever rent, and don’t worry because property will always appreciate, are among the many reasons the housing bubble happened last decade. People had no business buying a home they couldn’t afford on the assumption things would always go up, up, up.
