Newcomer to the US Seeks New Start in Another State

[Fabio Selmi]

Hey everyone!

I've been lurking around BP, soaking up everything from books to podcasts for a few months. Now, it's time to finally take the leap and write my first post.

A bit of a background: two years back, I moved from Italy to Irvine, CA, to help a friend with his business. Now, it's time for me to close that chapter and find my next step. Now, I'm eyeing real estate. It's new territory for me, but I think it would be a very interesting endeavor, even though my savings are kinda tight. Thinking of kicking things off with house hacking and maybe trying to work as a property manager or something similar to stay close to the industry.

My wife and I went through a wonderful exercise–thanks to @Bruce Woodruff for the invaluable guidance–to define what's important to us, our values, goals and dreams. Then, my wife and I picked out 10 places in the US where we think we could enjoy living. It's still a work in progress and we need to research the areas in depth, but I thought I'd share them with you all.

We're after places where a newbie like me can get started, especially through house hacking. We're also looking for a friendly community, a decent lifestyle, and chances to grow professionally in real estate.

Check out our list—and yes, I know it's pretty varied!

1. - San Antonio, TX
2. - Austin, TX
3. - Knoxville, TN
4. - Eugene, OR
5. - Phoenix, AZ
6. - Tucson, AZ
7. - Denver, CO
8. - Colorado Springs, CO
9. - Salt Lake City, UT
10. - Lexington, KY

Got any insights or advice on these spots? If you invest or live in any of them, I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks a ton in advance. This community's insights are very precious to me.

Frugal Fabio
New to US Real Estate

[Jordan Moorhead]

@Fabio Selmi I enjoy living in Austin quite a lot and househacked a few times here. I would figure out where you want to live and househack there. Invest where it makes sense, you don't need to live in a place to invest in real estate there.