Purchase A Home in CA or Invest Out-of-State?!

[Krystin Aversa]

I'm currently paying 3k/month for a one bedroom apartment in the Bay Area. I'm seeking advice on what would be a better investment option/smarter financial decision: to buy a home in the Bay Area, or to continue renting and use that money to buy investment properties out of state. Purchasing a home here would require use of nearly all of my saved capital for a down payment, and would increase my rent to about 5-6k. The train of thought with this option is that I am currently spending 3k/month on rent in someone else's pocket, money which could be going towards an asset that belongs to me with the benefit of principal pay down and appreciation, and I could still invest OOS it would just take a longer time (2-3years) to save the capital again. The other option would be to continue renting and to begin investing OOS this year, and with the money I have saved I could in fact purchase multiple properties in a different state (which I would intend to BRRR/hold as rental properties). Any advice/thoughts/perspectives are appreciated!