[username]

I personally see nothing wrong with a 30 year mortgage. While a 2000 - 3000 monthy payment on a mortage right now might seem a little steep it will be peanuts to the person who qualified for it now in 30 years. If you just assume an increase of 3% to your salary (conservative I'd say) every year for 20 years by the time you're at 20 years it will basically feel like you're living mortgage free.

edit: I forgot to mention that the time value of money comes into play here too. If you're going to pay off your mortgage in 15 years, that dollar of interest at year 15 is worth a lot more today than your dollar at year 30. So while you're paying more interest on a 30 year mortgage, the interst you're paying later isn't worth the same as it is early on.