Renting for some people can be the best fiscal choice. In the case of people who might need to move more frequently for work, or what not. The flexibility of being able to pack up and move, is desirable.
I do agree however, that owing should be prefer to renting, as people tend to take better care of things they own. I'm not trying to say that your are a bad renter, but rather that if you owned, you might find; you don't just take care of the place, You take DAMN GOOD care of it.
If you think you might stay for 2 years, look into buying one of the houses around town, you can get some really good deals right now. For what you pay in rent, you might be able to buy a nice 3 bedroom house right now. Are they selling loft's downtown yet?