Investing out of your home area as a beginner

[Roy So]

I've never considered living in NYC a disadvantage until I seriously considered investing here... There's no doubt something like $200,000 will get you started pretty well in other parts of the country, while here it feels like nothing more than down payment for an apartment/house.

My question is... How realistic is it for me to invest in other markets as a beginner. Would this be generally something you'd consider a more advanced investor would take on? or do you think it's fairly straight forward... Find the right multi-family (for example), find a good management company/situation and proceed?

Would you say i'm better off finding something closer say NJ/PA as opposed to looking in places like NC or the midwest (or even TX)?

I must admin my original plan was to fix and flip to generate more cash at first, but owning a multi-family seems so appealing if I can do it right away.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Roy