Stuck on where to invest - CA/ OR/ WA

[Angelo Baglieri]

I am a commercial real estate agent in the San Francisco Bay Area selling apartment buildings and mixed use properties. While the commissions I make are very good due to the price point of commercial properties in my area, I cant seem to find any way to make sense of investing where I sell these properties. I therefor have been looking out of state for quite some time but I am still torn with where to buy. I know how to analyze and underwrite a deal since I do this everyday but the real question is...

1. Do I find somewhere in California outside the bay area that is more affordable like Sacramento and buy an apartment building there so I can keep my investment local and more hands on?

2. Or do I buy something in Portland or Vancouver Washington where I do spend quite a bit of time in due to my business partner living there. 

I know CA properties don't cash flow as much if any but we have appreciation over anyone. I am ok with minimal cash flow if I know I am making up for it in other ways. For the price of what we can spend on an investment property in CA we would most likely end up with 2-4 units in Sacramento area but in SE Washington or Portland I can buy 5-10 units if I really wanted to and I know its units over smaller buildings that make the money. 

Thoughts on this anyone?