Where to begin investing

[Josh Spohn]

Hey guys! I'm 21 y/o and a newbie to real estate investing and want to make a full time career of it. I would like to find deals asap, however, I don't want to be tied down to the area I currently live in (suburbs of Chicago) and would like to start in a different state. I'm pretty lost in terms of searching for different markets to enter and I only have 15k to invest. Any advice on decent markets outside Illinois that I could start house hacking and growing my business would be a great help.

[Phillip Witt]

A lot of folks would say Illinois...midwest...you are in the perfect place to start looking at least...why are you looking to start away from home? I am of the school of thought that your own back yard is the best place to begin in this industry. If you insist on doing the long distance thing...https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/long-distance-real-estate-investing-ultimate may be a place you would want to start?