I mean, it is certainly possible to be uprooted every year as a renter. But I've lived in two places for 14 years as a renter, and switching from one to the other was a significant upgrade. The first apartment was even rent controlled, so I was guaranteed a renewal lease at a controlled amount, and I had lots of protections.

In fact, it's renting that allowed us to upgrade our place when we had the opportunity, as we didn't need to sell our place in order to be able to buy a new one - we just moved our stuff over.

And to your point:

> It converts your wealth into a usable asset (a house). You can't build a shelter out of bricks of cash, or convert a money market account to a nursery.

You absolutely can do that - it's called "Renting" or "airbnb" or "subletting". The challenge is turning a usable asset back into a pile of cash if macroeconomic forces play against you.