Hasta La Motion!

In a somewhat VFX related topic, I’m curious to see how many of you own your own home, and how many of you rent.

Doing VFX, we have to be ready to leave the country for months at a time to work on a project. Most of us return home, some of us find a new home. So, in short, a lot of us have the nomadic lifestyle, which makes it difficult to consider any one place a permanent home. And with a lot of VFX work leaving Los Angeles, a lot of us wonder if it’s even worth it to buy, even though we might be able to afford a place. But just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Will we be working in the same city 3 years from now. With Canada becoming the hot spot, a lot of us are considering the strong possibility of moving over over the next few years. So why buy a home, if you just have to get up and move a few years down the line?

Some argue you could always rent out the home you bought, and some argue you are wasting your money every month with rent. But in a city like Los Angeles, where buying a home is EXPENSIVE, and the uncertainty of the industry over the next few years, it does beg the question. Is it worth it to buy a home, or does the flexibility of being able to get up and move should the opportunity arrive?

I was looking to buy, but now I think I have to wait another year due to recent circumstances beyond my control (known as life). But even if I could, do I really want to? Tax benefits aside, buying a home IS expensive, and something that you shouldn’t jump into regardless of the benefits.

What about you guys? Accept the nomadic lifestyle and rent, or try to settle down and buy, despite the ever changing face of the industry?