House Hacking via Duplex or Investing out of Area/State?

[Sean Durham]

Apologies if this has been asked/answered already - I searched but couldn't find anything.

Looking into our first investment opportunity, currently renting in LA county where I need to live for work. We don't love renting, but we have a good situation which allows us to save and buying in LA seems imprudent right now. Superthankful for BP - so I wanted to put our scenarios out there for feedback:

Option 1 - Duplex in Long Beach, plan would be to live in one/rent out other unit for a year or two. Would definitely subsidize the mortgage and likely cashflow well after moving out. 

Option 2 - Buy 1-2 SFRs in Michigan - we have family there, but would need to lean on property management. Would plan to buy and hold. Continue to rent in Pasadena

Option 3 - Buy in big bear and/or Palm Springs and manage the properties as seasonal/AirBnb rentals, Continue to rent in Pasadena. 

Given the opportunities there and constraints and most importantly, our goal of building a substantial RE cashflow/rental portfolio in the next 10 years - I'd love to hear any feedback or experience anyone might have on what might be the best initial move to begin our journey. 

Again, very grateful for the wealth of knowledge here.