Question from the DMV

[Steven Trumpet]

Hi everyone,

I live in northern Va and have been investing on and off for almost 14 years. 

After the real estate crisis, it became harder to get loans & I needed to focus keeping my homes rented. All that to say, I haven't bought anything in years & I'd like to start looking again.

In my area, Washington DC is hot- super hot but its hard to find deals there & things are super expensive.  So my question to the wonderful bright forum is- how do YOU decide on where to invest?

I remember looking at websites that looked at job growth and people with degrees moving there. Is there a website you can guide me to that would help? Any advice you can offer would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Steven