Pros/Cons of Differing Population Sizes?

[Brian Kraft]

Would you smartypants (with "bigpockets") please weigh in and innumerate the pros and cons of investing in markets of varying sizes? A commonly stated risk of a smaller population is possibly having an employer, that's providing jobs to a rather large segment of the population, leave/shut down. 

What are other things to consider (I know there are many!)? How does your strategy play into your decision of location as it relates to population size?

[Todd Dexheimer]

Biggest risks for a small town: 

1. Hiring quality property managers and contractors can be a challenge. If there are only one or two outfits, what happens when they don't work out? 

2. Financing is harder and usually more expensive. Agency debt is harder to get and you will pay more and have a larger down payment. There are less local banks as well

3. Tenants: It is harder to replace tenants in smaller cities. Vacancy time tends to be longer

4. Unless it is a fast growing small town, rents raise slowly.