As others have mentioned it'll vary on your individual situation. Owning a condo has allowed me to live where I want to, and in a nice place, without being house poor because of a bigger payment. The savings isn't as much as some people make it out to be, as I could have bought plenty of house for the money I pay now, i just couldn't have that house where I wanted. So this was the compromise.
I hear my neighbors every now and then but it's nothing major. My biggest complaint is parking at my place, so pay attention to that before you buy.
The biggest downside is that when you try to leave you're likely going to find that you didn't really have quite the "investment" that people want you to believe.