If you can afford to buy a house/condo should you do it to avoid rent?

[Courtesy Flush]

I mean I'm not sure I want to commit myself to one place for the next 10 years or anything like that, but if it's smarter to buy a condo for the next 3-5 years than to rent for that whole time I'm thinking I should do it. It's just that I'm not very clear on the logistics of these things. Other than all of the maintenence I'd have to take care of myself, what downsides are there to owning vs renting?