Newbie niche/strategy advice

[Mario Malpelli]

Newbie here. Have been educating myself via podcasts/forums and the BRRRR book for a couple of months. I have a few options for partners for my first investment and was interested in trying to do a long distance BRRRR in a Midwest or Southeast location. I'm locked into a lease for another year and a half but would ideally and eventually like to house hack where I live (just outside NYC). I don't want my lease to be an excuse for me not to invest until then. Signed up for the rookie bootcamp, have been analyzing some deals and trying to hone in on growing cities that are not so hot that we can't afford. We are all new to real estate investing and were thinking a BRRRR would allow us to scale. Would you advise on 1. Long distance investing for your first acquisition and 2. BRRRRing as the strategy. Don't want to set ourselves up for failure even though I know the first is a valuable learning experience. Any info, advice, hot but affordable market suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!