First time purchase: SanDiego or Out of state?

[Shankar Sridhar]

Hey all,

This is my first post here. Loving this community!. 

I am 25 years old, working from San Diego for past 1 year after my Master's. I am on a work visa. Looking to build some real-estate equity.  Looking to purchase next year fall. I am trying to see if buying a house at SD or OOS property+property manager makes sense. 

 I am planning to stay in SD for 3 years min. and want to be renting it out later if I have to move out of state or even be prepared to move out of country as I am on a temporary work-visa.

I am thinking of a FHA loan for 3 bedroom house in SD around 600-650K$ or lower near Mira Mesa , since I work there. I plan to house hack for next 2-3 years. I know cash flow is nearly impossible, but I am even okay with paying a small share of rent while my roommates pay the major part.

Otherwise, I am looking to buy at nearby market such as AZ, Utah or Nevada as an investment property around 200K$, for which I can afford the 20% down payment. In this case, would prefer to use a property management and get some cash-flow too.

Any thoughts on how to proceed further? which route might be best for me ? 
I welcome your suggestions and insights. Thanks :)