Buy first home or first rental property?

[Avery Bishop]

Hello, I'm new to the community (first post, but longtime lurker)...torn between purchasing first home (in MD) or first rental property (in Huntsville, AL). Interested in hearing others' thoughts/opinion/advice.

Spouse and I are both active duty military, one child (toddler), $85k in savings, zero debt. Our current rent is ($2400/mo, housing allowance is ~$4500/mo). Decent SFH here in good school district is at least $400k, multi-family units are way out of our price range (being military, we can be moved at anytime, potentially leaving us stuck with a high mortgage payment if we couldn't find renters) I'm originally from north Alabama and the growth/potential in Huntsville looks promising. We could easily afford a small mortgage their (and rent to a tenant) without it affecting our lifestyle, regardless of where we're stationed. However, if we buy in AL, we'd still be renting here.

Does it make sense to buy a rental property before your owner-occupied property?

Appreciate any and all input. Thanks