New Member from New Jersey/New York

[Brendan Kelly]

Hello all,

My name is Brendan Kelly and I am new to the REI world. I discovered Bigger Pockets a few weeks ago as I began my research and cant get enough of the blog posts, forums, podcasts, and Brandon's books. My goal is to get into buy and hold investing of single and small multi-family properties but I am having a hard time getting started.

I am from Bergen County New Jersey and will shortly be moving to Manhattan for work. Unfortunately, this eliminates the house hacking option which I recognize would be my easiest introduction to being an investor/landlord.  I am finding myself priced out of the deals in my area and then am guilty of analysis paralysis about where else to look.  As a newcomer to investing I do not feel comfortable acquiring my first property in a Class C area, but the only properties in my price range within my vicinity are in these types of neighborhoods. (Please let me know if you think this is the correct line of thinking)

Now I don't mean to say there are not ways to make this work and I am very confident that I will find the correct market for my goals, but I am wondering if anyone from BP has had any similar experiences when getting started.  Most of the podcasts discussing long distance investing seem to mention a previous affiliation with the area  that they ended up investing.  Is there another option that will help me feel that I am not just throwing a dart at a map and picking an area?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to becoming a bigger part of the BP community.  I apologize that it was a little long winded but I am very excited to get started and am hoping the great BP community can help me get pointed in the right direction.  Thanks again!