How far away should I look?

[Chris Duzan]

I am currently living and going to school in Columbia, SC. I am looking for a single-family home or a duplex with positive cashflow for my first property. Something I can buy and hold. Once I get the hang of it I will start looking for larger deals, but I thought this would be a good place to start and not as punishing when learning from my mistakes. However, Columbia is not exactly an Atlanta, GA or Charlotte, NC and I was wondering if I should focus really hard on looking for a good property in my area or would it be worth going farther away, to say Charlotte(about 1.5 hours away), with a higher work force and most likely a higher demand for housing. I just wanted to get an idea of what everybody thought. Thanks ahead of time for all your answers.

Chris