With 30k available / excellent credit, where would you invest?

[NA Ben]

Hey guys!  I've just paid off my student loans and - after dumping about a year on travel - I've finally saved up enough to start considering investing in real estate.  I'm currently renting a room out of a single-family-home that has four rooms with the homeowner living in the unfinished basement; I'd like to do something similar to maximize cash flow (sacrifice comfort in the name of earnings).  I'm struggling to decide where I should invest, how much I should invest, and what I should invest in.  I'd like to learn what you folks would do (and why) if you were in my situation.

My finances: 

 - 30K available for a down payment

 - no debt

 - excellent credit, income, employment (software engineer)

My goals:

 - Take advantage of my solid credit and employment to finance an investment property that I can use to generate cash flow and (maybe) live rent-free.

My preferences:

 - A 1 or 2-car garage attached to the house

- No HOA

 - Warm weather year-round

My questions:

1. - Where would you shop and why? I love CA (Long Beach, San Diego) but from what I understand, the investment value is much lower in that region than in locations like Dallas, Tampa, or Orlando (lower CAP, job growth, population growth, higher entry costs). I'd prioritize earning potential over weather.
2.  - With 30k at a 3.5-5% down payment, I can finance a ~$600k property.  I've seen guidance that suggests starting small, but I'm attracted to the idea of maximizing my cash flow as soon as possible so it can more quickly snowball into real wealth.  Is this an unwise position?
3. - What would you invest in and why? I like the idea of replicating what my current landlord has - a SFH with 4+ rooms and then renting rooms through a combination of short-term and long-term.

Thank you for reading!