Newbie Renting in expensive area; Investing elsewhere first wise?

[Virginia Schilling]

Hi I'm brand new to Bigger Pockets, and real estate investing in general. I've been trying to absorb as much information as possible and I am currently listening to David Greene's book on long distance investing. I live and work in the Boulder area as an engineer, and I know that in my industry I am limited to living in areas where rents and demand are high. I'm wondering: does it make sense to continue to rent and purchase my first real estate investment in a different market, where the prices are reasonable, or should I be saving for my own primary residence first, and then continue to save for out of state investments? I'm sure this is highly dependent on the market; I'm just looking for some rules of thumb, advice, or generally other factors I haven't thought about. It just seems unlikely that I will be able to purchase a duplex or triplex for the very high prices in Boulder or Louisville, Colorado as my first property (so that I could take advantage of house hacking), and it seems like trying to save for a second property will also be unlikely. However, with the rental increases (almost 10% per year), it seems ridiculous to be paying rent while also trying to start seriously real estate investing. Doe anyone have any thoughts on this dilemma?