The rent/buy thing is always a mixed bag. I know a lot of guys who bought in SoCal, then sold a year or two later and made $100K+ free and clear. I'm willing to bet that some guys who tried to do the same thing a couple years later are waking up this year to find that they've taken it in the shorts, big time. It's situationally dependent, and depends a lot on how real estate savvy you are, and sometimes on whether you have enough of a cushion built up to suck up not having renters and/or leaving a house empty while it's on the market.
An officer's pay will definitely keep you in the top half of the middle class. Single or married is a HUGE question, though I take a middle road on that one. Don't go for the first Pensacola hottie to catch your eye, but being the only confirmed bachelor field-grade in a squadron would be kind of weird, too. You will have the resources to either support a family in a decent, but not decadent lifestyle, or to be a fairly well-off bachelor. As with anything, it always comes down to priorities. To each his own--as long as he/she makes it work, I'm not a hater, either way.
An officer's pay will definitely keep you in the top half of the middle class. Single or married is a HUGE question, though I take a middle road on that one. Don't go for the first Pensacola hottie to catch your eye, but being the only confirmed bachelor field-grade in a squadron would be kind of weird, too. You will have the resources to either support a family in a decent, but not decadent lifestyle, or to be a fairly well-off bachelor. As with anything, it always comes down to priorities. To each his own--as long as he/she makes it work, I'm not a hater, either way.
