Where are Bay Area residents buying today!? Which market?

[Natalie Johnstone]

Hi All - I'm brand new and have a goal to buy a property by EOY.  I'm overwhelmed by which market(s) to choose.  Because I'm in the Bay area, I can't really invest in my backyard so to speak.  Looking out of state (because of prices and more landlord friendly areas) but open to hear others successes in Cali investing (for first time purchases).  

If you are investing out of area or out of state, how are you inspecting property, and all your due diligence out of area? has it been difficult?

My strategy would be to have a property manager do pretty much everything, I'm okay with minimal cashflow because we both have great W2 jobs.  I'm more interested in just growing assets.   Thank you so much!!!