On buying a house in the US/Apartments in Bangalore

This is my second year in the US and looking at the way real estate is doing tempted me to buy a house here.However I decided to closely examine the life of a few of our family friends and see how they did with their little mansions.

Ensuring I don't use names to guard privacy(else brickbats are awaited) let me narrate the saga of a few families visited.

One of our friends attributed his weight loss success story to the new house.Sounds peculiar, but the lawn mowing, snow clearing, landscaping(see -its not a big deal-plant a few trees) repainting did it all.Think of all the money saved by not enrolling in a gym.

The second friend got good at accounting and planning.Here it goes
2008 self bonus-Leather sofa set from lazy boys
2008 wife bonus- LCD TV to be stuck on a wall
2009 self bonus -Landscaping
2009 wife bonus- California windows and office space furnishings at home
2010 self bonus.................................................................:-)

The third one planned a number of tours to thy neighbours homes.Picked up quite some tips from each one.I happened to be a dazzled spectator of one such tour wherein the neighbour displayed her home in style (felt like taking a Louvre tour)and explained the importance of the master bed.It turned out to be pretty high(wondered if there was a magic ladder or stool hidden to climb on it) and the quilt supposedly made from the feathers of an rare species Greek bird.
The cleaning process of the quilt involved numerous steps(for now lets get back to the topic) and I wondered how much money would have gone on such a thing where your chances of falling from the same outweighed the importance of it.
Nevertheless, our friend did buy a big bungalow and so it went on for a long time,Painting the house, redoing the windows , a minibar and kick-a-leg ballroom in the basement.I must definitely appreciate their time and dedication, but when it was all done, the house was put for sale and a paltry 25K profit out of the entire exercise!!!!

In this country where both the spouses work(for need or to kill boredom) and where children are programmed to be occupied 24/7 365 days in a year,
Does owning such a big den really make sense?
That money could have been spent on a family trip to the big Ben instead!
Are own houses a place for annual get togethers and grill????

On a similar note are the palatial apartments in Bangalore where IT couples spend very few hours in the house and the rest on the roads laden with traffic or their Air conditioned cubicle.
Children have their own room, CDs , TV , laptop and are hardly out of their den.

When I look at the other side of the road lined with tiny houses with a maximum of one big bedroom and an entire family living in it, Iam amused not because of the fact that they are the "not so blessed" economically hit strata of the society, but the peace of mind they possess.
Children from such homes still play on the road without servant supervision, share their toys (broken bats and used scooter tyres:-) and enjoy their time living thy moment.
On the other side are the children from the IT couple sector who are enclosed in the apartment complex accompanied by their respective maids or the children in these big houses surrounding the big apple with high-fi gadgets killing time and rusting their brains.

Say, isn't it time to get back to a good old tyre swing on the mango tree?
Yawa Mohana Murali kareyitho doora theerake ninanu
Yawa brindavanavu seliyithu ninna mannina kannanu................................................