26yo, have lived in an apartment since graduating. I recently moved in with my girlfriend, and we are paying roughly $1700 a month for a 1br apartment in the South. It’s close to work, don’t have to worry about maintenance, etc.. but it’s extremely small — 690 sqft.

I’ve read about renting vs buying for years, but know it isn’t always black and white. A little about my situation (not including girlfriends income, as I’d likely be buying and she’d be paying rent):

• 140k pre tax income
• 180k NW (~20k in cash, the rest invested. I can access this fairly quickly)
• no debt
• will likely be living in my current state for 2 more years
• looking at townhomes between 175k and 300k

I know the general rule of thumb is to only buy if you plan to stay 5+ years, but curious to get some additional input based on my specific situation. Thanks everyone.