For me, the biggest 'cost' seems to be peace of mind. I rent my place, and even thinking about all this home owner sh!te gives me a headache.

To each their own, and I'm probably pissing money away, but I want to live with the feeling that I can quit this 'housing subscription' (that's what it is, just another subscription) within a month and not even have to think about it.

Meanwhile italian subscriptions have on average 6 months notice in advance for quitting it...