Best strategy for a 30+ year buy and hold?

[Tyler D.]

Hey BP,

I am 27 and have $200k to invest. I currently own a home in Ohio and have used it over the past year to gain some knowledge on being a landlord. I've decided that I want to do this for the long term, and want to take advantage of these historically low interest rates to buy and hold properties for the rest of my life. The question is, which properties and where?

Originally, I had followed the high cashflow model and bought my first house in Cleveland, OH. I later realized that my long-term returns would suffer due to a lack of appreciation, and have since done a metric ton of research on viable cities based on population growth, job growth, etc. The issue is that while the data is useful for a short term investment, I am unsure of how these trends will carry into the very long term future. Deciding on a city to buy and hold for the next 30 years seems somewhat like throwing darts blindfolded.

So, BP members with a super-long-term approach, which strategy and locations do you recommend?