How to choose a location from the US?

[Mike Tikh]

Currently stuck in analysis paralysis on trying to find the right location for a first property, with a willingness to move anywhere in the US. 

Goal

My objective would be to go with a MFH, 2-4 units, higher would be better. I'd house hack and live in one of the units the first year, and use an FHA 3.5% loan. For amount, it would likely be in the $500-700k range.

My expectations are to have a negative cash flow while living there, and possibly a slight negative cash flow after moving out (until interest rates lower or rents increase). For example, a $650k 3-4 unit where each can rent out at $1,500, allowing for a negative cash flow of $2-2.5k/month the first year.

Possibilities

Given those goals, it would rule out the more expensive places (California, Seattle area, Austin). However, I have no idea how to choose from the remaining cities, it seems there are a lot of potential options:

- Midwest - Michigan (ie: Grand Rapids) seems to have options, also seeing Columbus Ohio and Indianapolis coming up

- Reno - I've seen mentioned several times on here

- Pittsburgh / Philadelphia / Twin Cities - All mentioned as lower cost to get started, and seem to be experiencing growth

I'd ideally like to find a place that has strong potential for future growth, a diversified economy, and I don't mind living in (being close to nature would be a plus). 

Any thoughts on how to choose - what metrics to evaluate, resources to read to help?

[Austin Wolff]

Hi Mike, I'm the Market Intelligence Analyst here at BiggerPockets, and as someone who just moved across the country for my own house-hack, I feel qualified to answer this.  

First, I wrote an article regarding this specific question, take a look if you're curious:

The 10 Best Markets for Your First House Hack

Second, if you'd rather do your own research, we created a simple "Where to Start" dataset that includes data such as population, price, and rent growth. You can find that here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/resources/market-data/where-to...

Third, my biggest mistake was not talking to enough property managers to fully understand the rental market. For example, in Los Angeles (where I'm from), rentals are always in high demand. However, in Fayetteville, AR (where I moved), the "leasing season" is in the summer. Demand for rentals is near non-existent in this specific town during the winter, and demand is extremely hot in the summer months. Because most units are rented in the summer anyway, the "median rent" here is basically just a reflection of the rents you can get in the summer, not in the winter (big oops on my part). This is something that even I didn't pick up in my data analysis, and I'm supposed to be the "market analysis guy." Some things you just learn by picking up the phone and talking to boots-on-the-ground.

Long story short, there are many markets that could work (you've alluded to some in your post, and almost every market already mentioned in this thread is a solid pick). But because you're house-hacking, I'd also account for "quality of life" if I were you. Some things matter more than saving an extra $200/month because you chose to live in a market you didn't necessarily like.