Surerhawk and I PM'd briefly last night. Jenn, thanks for the kind words.
This is not the 1970's anymore. We are also not in a rural area, for the most part. Buying a home is nothing more than an investment these days and should be treated as such, DEPENDING ON YOUR GOALS. If your goal is to buy and house and retire in it, put all the money down, or into it you want. Less than 5% of home buyers do this before they are in their 40's. If you know you are going to move, why put money into the home? Equity does not earn interest. Leave the money where it will work for you, invest it or leave it in an account to get interest. Paying off a house would be great, but it might not be the best move with your money at an early age.
There are so many options these days, it's overwhelming. The most important thing is to feel comfortable the people you are working with have your best interest in mind. On this site I simply put myself out there to help advise. If someone wants me to do their loan, we can go from there. My consultations are free. I would rather guild people on here to a good decision, than get money from them and have tension.