

But you legally own your house if your name is on the title deeds. The deeds say I am the owner regardless of whether there is a mortgage or not. The mortgage is recorded on the title deeds, but it doesn’t change the fact that I am the owner. I can do whatever I want with it.
In essence, I have a loan against it but in extremis, the bank can force me to sell. I would get anything over the loan amount I sold it for but the bank would have no reason to do this if I continue to pay.
I live in a small rural community (up North) and don’t find any of this to be true, except for the trains bit (I drive so don’t really use trains) and maybe the Facebook bit as I’ve never used it. The housing is cheaper than it is in the nearby cities and towns. My village has queer people, young, old, ethnic minorities, and pretty much everyone gets on. The whole cops thing isn’t true at all; small communities by and large have friendlier and more welcoming people than cities in my experience. And countryside is objectively a nicer environment than urban sprawl, and better for you to boot. The view from the back of mine is fields with cows and woods, and I’d take that over a train line or tower block any day of the week.