25yr old in NYC -- finding a market to start my search

[Jake Ferman]

I am 25, living in NYC with ~150k in savings. I have a high-paying, but unsatisfying job.

I'm planning on quitting soon, moving back home for a little and taking a few months in between my next job to pursue my first investment.

My rough idea for an investing strategy is:  long-term, not necessarily looking for high cashflow (just want to start building equity), quality deals > amt. of doors, Class A/B neighborhoods mainly for low vacancy. 

I'm already stuck in phase one of deciding what market to focus on and get overwhelmed when even deciding where to start my search.

I guess my questions to you all are:

 1. Should I focus on a market in-state or look elsewhere? -- Right now I'm interested in class A/B suburban markets outside of NYC.

 2. Going off that, if I were to choose a suburban market, doing CMAs and underwriting deals seems like it'd be a challenge as there's less transaction volume. So would it make sense to focus on bigger markets to start?

 3. Would you suggest working with an agent to start, or focus on other marketing channels (driving for dollars, mailers, pre-forclosures, etc.)? -- focusing on too many channels would get overwhelming quickly, but I feel like I'd succeed if I focused on one.

As this post probably lets on, I'm a bit of an over-thinker which tends to lead to paralysis-by-analysis.  I'd also love the chance to connect with any of you 1-on-1 either in person or virtually. 

I've been a spectator in this community on and off for a while now. I'm excited to finally introduce myself and will have lots more questions to come.

Thanks in advance for any advice!!