Would you recommend first rental be local?

[Elizabeth LeBlanc]

Hi all, I just joined here. My husband and I have been wanting to get into real estate for some time and started with hopes of self storage but decided after a year of trying to purchase in that market to move over to other real estate! Excited to be here. 

My question is this: (and thank you for any advice you have to give me!), would you recommend your first rental property be in your local market? We are having trouble finding a "deal" in our area. Everything still seems so overpriced to make the numbers work! If not, do you have any advice on finding a market that is more doable currently? Thank you, and I apologize for sounding so amateur! 

[Joe Villeneuve]

Ideally, but being local isn't a requirement.  Making money is.  If local doesn't make money, don't invest there...and don't rationalize a bad deal just because it might be local.