We decided to raise our children ourselves which meant getting by on one income. The places we could afford to buy were places we were not comfortable living in. Real estate is very pricey where we are and if we stay we will never own a home larger than where we rent now. We’ve missed out on a huge run up in prices but having one of us at home while our kids were young was important to us.

We are looked down upon by some of our contemporaries but we have taken some great family trips and had two daughters in competitive dance.

I regret that our housing was not big enough for my kids to have more than a friend over at a time. Still our kids know who their parents are and that they are loved more than home equity and status