To rent or to own? That is the question.

While the traditional answer was the latter, that is no longer always the case. Sure, the classic American dream includes home ownership—traditionally a house with a picket fence in the suburbs, though maybe today a condo in a vibrant city corridor, a so-called tiny house, or a tech-pimped rural cabin.

Not anymore, according to new LendingTree data. Three super popular metro areas have a spread so wide between renting and owning that it makes more sense to cut a monthly check to a landlord. They are:

New York (where the median monthly gross rent is $1,439 and the median monthly housing costs for homes with a mortgage is $2,802)
San Francisco ($1,905 and $3,088)
San Jose, California ($2,249 and $3,347)

“Renting might be the best option for someone who doesn’t plan on staying in one area long term or is having trouble saving for a down payment,” LendingTree says in its analysis. “On the other hand, buying a home can be a valuable long-term investment. In either case, cost is one of the biggest factors that people consider when choosing between buying and renting.”