Advice Much Appreciated!

Mike and I are preparing to make a large investment... in a home. We are looking at several options and do not have our minds or hearts set on anythng at the moment. We are currently paying more for rent than we would be paying on a mortgage. However, we do not know where Mike will get a job after he graduates (with his master's) in about 5 years, so we don't want to be TOO permanent. Of course, the housing market is at an all time low, so it's definitely a buyers market, but we are still nervous. I am our main source of income over the next couple of years, and we plan to add to our family in the next two years as well. We are what you would call "property virgins" and would appreciate any thoughts or advice on the matter. Here are a couple of options we are looking at:

1. Buy a home in Eagle Mountain, Lehi, or Saratoga Springs
There are some really affordable homes between $115 and $150 thousand in these areas. This would be about a 30 minute commute for me and a 45-60 minute commute for Mike. The homes are very new and GoRgEoUs, but I'm concerned about the commute. Mike says he wouldn't mind, but I think it would bother him over time that he would be spending almost 2 hours a day driving instead of spending time with his family. The homes we are looking at are 3 bed and 2-3 bath homes. There is one priced at $129,000 that only has a little over 1,000 sq. feet, but a nice fenced in back yard. It might be a great starter home, and doesn't strap us down too much financially. Another one we love is $150,000 and has 3,600 sq. feet!!! It's huge and amazing. We love it! But we don't really need all that space right now, and it's at the top of our budget. Also, the yard isn't landscaped yet, so that could be really expensive.

2. Buy a premanufactured home and place it in a mobile home park in Salt Lake area
For a brand new double-wide premanufactured home that I design, it is around 35-45 thousand dollars. I've never desired to live in a "trailer park", but looking at these homes online makes me really excited. They have hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, walk in closets, amazing master suites and baths, huge contemporary kitchens, etc. They are around 1,500 sq. feet too! There are a lot of mobile home parks in Murray, Sandy and surrounding areas that are now gated communities with a nice clubhouse and pool, full of these new homes, with beautifully landscaped yards. There are now "upper class" trailer parks. haha This would allow us to nearly pay off our home over the next 5 years to have an awesome downpayment on our dream home later. We would have low monthly payments and we could be much closer to my job and Mike's school. However, we have to pay a monthly rental fee for our spot in the park that is around 400-500 dollars, so we'd still be paying as much a month for a trailer as we could be for a house.

3. Buy a condo or townhome
I am not a huge fan of this option, but it's still an option. They are definitely in our price range and are all over the SLC valley as well as in Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs. Some of them are huge in square footage. However, part of the reason to buy a home include having a yard, a garage, and not walking up and down stairs to get to your home. I also am tired of hearing neighbors' quarrels, music, screaming, laughing, etc. But many people start out life by owning a condo or a townhome.

Give me any thoughts you might have! I'm going to apply to see what I'm preapproved for in February and work with a real estate agent. Our lease ends in June, so we would like to see ourselves in a new place by May or June. Yay!!