Determine area for rental investment

[Chris Albanese]

Hi BP!  My name is Chris and I'm starting to get more informed about where I should begin my RE journey.  I've decided I'd like to begin investing in rental properties so I can generate some passive income streams while I continue working my "regular" job.  Currently I live in NYC but would like to invest in a suburb of NY rather than the city itself due to the high cost of investment in the city.  The part I'm having trouble with is - where?

I was wondering if anyone on the forum could recommend some specific ways to figure out the best regions/towns to invest in rental properties.  Websites? Forums? Meet-ups?  State/County reports?  I would feel much more comfortable investing in something near my home rather than trying to manage it remotely, but it seems like there are an overwhelming number of places to research, so I need to narrow it down to a more specific region nearby. Although I feel like I have a decent handle on how to evaluate a property I'm finding it hard to figure out "the best" place to apply my evaluation.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Thanks!