Long distance: I don't know which city to pick

[Teho Kim]

I'm about halfway done with David Greene's long distance REI book. The book doesn't cover on how to pick the city you want to invest in.

I'm leaning towards Florida, particularly the area in between and including Orlando and Tampa. This is really just a whim however, based on that I could see myself retiring there; and a small chance that my work can take me there in several years time. Is this enough justification to just go with it?

How should I go about picking a city? Appreciate any and all insights.

[Tom Shallcross]

@Teho Kim - you can get more granular than this, but big macro-factors to get a list started should be 

1. Trends -  as net migration, job outlook, unemployment rate/trend, how much of population can afford your desired rents with your screening/underwriting.  

2. Price-to-rent ratio - Collecting $1500 on a 250k home is less appealing than $1500 on a $100k home.  

3. Laws/Infrastructure - landlord friendliness and can you broker relations with agents, contractors and property managers.  

Once you have an idea of 3-4 cities I would go bananas on BP getting convos established with individuals you'd need in each area to get a better feel for the area and if you can establish the appropriate human infrastructure to make this work.  From there you should be able to hone in on an area.