Living out Set for Life in San Diego. To house hack or not...

[Peter Talbot]

I just read @Scott Trench's book Set for Life and loved it, as I feel it was written just for me :) I'd like to get started with a house hack, but am not sure if that would be the best investment given my current situation. What are your thoughts in my stretching myself to house hack in my local market (San Diego) vs buying a cheaper multifamily in a lower-valued market (like Tulsa, Indianapolis, basically anywhere outside of CA)? What would you do if these were your constraints:

25 years-old, single, living in San Diego. 

I've got about 21k saved up in the bank  and am on target to make that about 26k by the end of the year. This is what I'd use for the down payment and any rehab costs/initial repairs, though I pretty much need to get tenants in there on day 1 otherwise my mortgage payment will eat me.

Based on what I've seen in SD, I'd be lucky to get a duplex for 400k. Using an FHA loan with low money down, I'd have FAT PMI which would eat into any potential cash flow

My monthly expenses are about 2,400

I make about 75k per year at my W2 job, which does let me work remotely whenever I want

To househack in San Diego or invest far away...both have pros and cons...