The "throwing money away" thing irks me. Renting vs owning are different philosophies that people consider at various points in their lives.

When you rent, you are spending money on a service that by definition is a human need for an entire month. Renting is "throwing money away" just as much as spending money on bus/cab fare, getting a hair cut, hiring a mechanic, etc. Renting also places the maintenance responsibilities on someone else. Ultimately it's a service that you pay for so you can have a place to exist for a set period of time.

When you buy a house, you are committing a minimum of the next several years of your life, which varies depending on how long it takes to break even on the mortgage. That means committing yourself to that location, your job, etc. If you decide that you hate the city you're in or the job you're working, you will probably see the house as a huge ball and chain that you're absolutely stuck with until you break even. And that can take a significant amount of time depending on what percentage you put down. If you want to change jobs or go back to school full time, you certainly can, but having the mortgage payments (which you can't pause) complicates things - you can't just utilize a safety net and move in with a family member, etc.

Renting makes sense when you're young and you haven't decided that "this is the job and location that I want for the rest of my life". Home ownership makes sense when you're settled into your job, have kids, etc. So buying certainly isn't for every person at every point in their lives. Even so, my mother always laughed at the concept of home ownership, pointing out that the bank owns your house until the 30 years are up. After that, you still have to pay property tax or the government can still take it away. And before you ask, I'm in the process of buying right now :)