If you could start investing anywhere, where would you go and why

[Graham Lutz]

NOTE: not sure if this is the right category or not....

Not that I'll be moving anywhere other than my home town, but just interested to hear from some of the seasoned investors here. I'm sure there are a million different opinions and probably not a single "right" answer but I hope we can have a discussion about what makes a good market or what you look for in an area. 

What's the best market to invest in today and why?  

[Jonathan Twombly]

@Graham Lutz I'd approach things differently from looking at where a factory is opening or what markets are hot.

I'd start with the list of Metropolitan Statistical Areas on wikipedia, which you can sort by growth rate:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan...

Even though there are growth rate variations within MSAs (i.e., declining areas within growing MSAs and vice-versa), to make things simple, I would avoid any MSA that is declining in population, period.  I'd be skeptical about MSAs growing slower than the US average, but wouldn't write them off completely if they are nearby to you and have something attractive about them, like state capitols or mega universities - these never go anywhere.

I'd then start getting a bit granular on the MSAs, trying to identify the areas within them that are growing or not growing.  You can get more granular, down to the city or zip code level on Hometown Locator https://www.hometownlocator.com, which uses Census Bureau stats.

Once you identify areas with strong growth within growing MSAs, look for anchors like government or big universities that are never going anywhere and are immune to fluctuations in the economy.

You should also look for the strongest school districts.  Demand is always high in these areas, and good schools always attract the best tenants - the tenants who are going to come up with the rent no matter what because they are determined to keep their kids in the good schools.

Once you've identified the areas of growth within the growing MSAs with the best schools, preferably near some major anchor, start looking for deals.