I'm with you and need someone smarter to make a better argument against renting than I can formulate on my own. All

What I was taught: Renting is often times optimal, totally fine, the right choice for a lot of people!

What my experience has taught me: Renting is for suckers or the incredibly wealthy that want to be able to move to a new city on a whim. I was a sucker for many years, and paid a very rich man 100k+ for the luxury of paying down his mortage. Never again.