where to buy the first rental

[Jean M.]

Hello bigger pocketers! I have a small problem. For the past 3 months I've been planning and working towards a real estate investing career. so far i been able to get 98k in business credit and hope to reach 90k of my own capital to start going full force by the end of February. I have bank financing in place and private funding from friends. However I'm not sure where i want to buy my first property. I'm mostly interested in buy/hold 2-4 units to create cashflow. however I'm not sure what city to start. at first i was strong on Troy NY but after doing some research i realized it has a lot of vacancies, old abandoned buildings, and lack of jobs. i was also interested in Schenectady NY because of the casino but I'm not sure if i want to bank on that for the a city's financial future. I am very new to real estate investing so I can be wrong on both cases. Right now I'm looking into Glens Falls NY (i have a friend there) and scranton pa. they both seem to have good rental markets. 

I currently reside in Long Island New York and my time is very limited. I know i have to start somewhere. Before i start taking off from work and start driving/spending time in those cities i would like to get some insights from people who are currently investing in those markets. or anyone (expecienced or not) who has any connection to those cities. any other recommendation would be greatly appreciated as well.