They put my brother through a bit of school - I left home at 18 on unamicable terms over my sexual orientation. Its a competitive world but spending every waking minute of your time on things that will give you resources will not give you the skillset needed to enjoy the resources you get. If you're trying to climb the socioeconomic ladder make sure you ask yourself whether its really worth it.
Hindsight is 20/20.
Absolutely true. I don't disparage my parents their decisions - their lives conditioned them to react and act the way they did and do. I'm glad to have the perspective relatively early on - things do not buy happiness.
Reading (but not the news) and having diverse friendships could also work.
"they earned the financial stability to raise you and your brother and put you through school"
That is something separate from the cost of paying a mortgage or renting, and his anecdote highlighted an involved cost of opportunity. One can earn even a higher financial condition (to raise kids or whatnot) by not being tied to a long term immobile project. You need the freedom to change (your place) if you have to. Change is important.
It's a competitive world we live in, and I often feel like I'm wasting every minute that I'm not actively working towards learning something new/planning my next cool experience/my next job opportunity. I wonder when I'll have the time to settle down and raise a family. Hopefully we can let some of the hot air out of housing market to make starting a stable, nuclear family somewhat tenable again in the near future.