One big reason renting is so popular is not being tied down to a single area. Maybe I can afford to settle down when I'm 70 but right now I need to stay flexible. Every 6 months to a year I need to evaluate my options to where the salary hotspots are go there. In the last 5 years, I have lived in Boston, Seattle, 'Frisco, Austin, Portland, Denver, and am soon moving to Manhattan. These are where the high-paying jobs are and I need to be there. Houses and family just make me less flexible thus less employable.
Money never sleeps and neither can I. This is the way of the new economy. The way of our grandparents starting with a company, staying 25-40 years and retiring are dead. Company loyalty is for the stupid. If you can't update your resume every year, you might as well just jump in front of a bus because you don't matter. The only measure of success these days is the number of figures in your paycheck and the number of prestigious jobs on your CV. A flashy car doesn't hurt either but lease, never ever buy.