Long distance newbie trying to decide between Kzoo/GR/Lansing MI

[Yaicha Bryan]

Hello!

Brief intro. Live in Denver area, bought a house for 318k two years ago (personal residence), self-renovated the basement, house-hacked to have a renter that pays half the mortgage. Since purchase, house has appreciated about 30k. Eventually plan to completely rent out this house, and move to a smaller property (maybe even a converted van on some land?). However, I have about 40k saved for my first LDRE purchase, and after many spreadsheets, have narrowed down to GR/East lansing/Kzoo. I like these areas over larger hot areas with great numbers (like indianapolis, columbus) because I like the idea of starting in a smaller area. I really want to live and breathe the area, and larger areas i.e. indianapolis feel a bit intimidating to me, also the amount of turnkey companies in this area makes me fear for ability to get good deals from afar. I also like that these areas are somewhat close to each other, likely not close enough to use the same team, but close enough to hopefully network and check out area to area, and possibly eventually have properties in more than one these. 

Anywho, for now, I am looking for some guidance on choosing between the 3 above - to start. Obviously, there are pockets within regions where the below will vary, but main things that are important to me are availability of MF properties, reliable property mgmt companies (being long distance), and cost. I like that Lansing seems to have a good amount of MF's and that the price points in general seem lower, but property taxes in general seem to be higher. GR seems exciting with slightly higher population than Kzoo, slightly higher population growth, and more MF's available. See a rough chart I made below:

TOWN	Property Tax	Average price (3/2)	Average Rent (3/2)	Price to rent ratio	MF on MLS	MF sold last 3 mos	Population	Population Growth (8 yrs)
Grand Rapids, MI	1.696%	$164,000.00	$1,280.00	11.00%	34	74.00	199000	5.76%
Kalamazoo, MI	1.827%	$130,000.00	$1,123.00	10.00%	19	22.00	76000	5.64%
Lansing, MI	2.343%	$104,000.00	$1,000.00	9.00%	54	?	478000	2.38%

At this point, i'm seeking some information on the more intangible aspects that may help me decide. Any insight would be super appreciated!!!

Thank you

Yaicha