Buying rentals outside of Long island, NY

[Ioannis Babatsikos]

Hey everyone, Looking to purchase my first rental property. Unfortunately where I live (Long island NY) and anywhere under a 2 hour drive from me doesn't seem to be a good demographic for rental properties. I've been researching surrounding areas such as New jersey, Connecticut, and upstate NY which seem to have okay returns in some areas but not so much to choose from. I've also been looking in many areas of Florida which seems to have even better returns and more to choose from (and warmer weather 😁) but is a much much further away location (I am not opposed to the idea of property management) My questions are... 

-Would it be possible to own rentals if they were located a couple hours away without property management, while working a full time job that requires many hours but the ability to take days off fairly easy?

-As a first time investor am I better off buying somewhere that will take me only a few hours drive to get to to for an ok return, or buying further for better returns but would only be able to check on the property every 6 months or so if needed? 

- As a first time investor am i better off buying a foreclosure to rent in long island so i can be near the property? (and hopefully use that equity to eventually buy other properties)

My goal would be to one day build up to multiple rentals, I have never even bought a house and have been doing A LOT of reading/learning about rental properties but the process can be overwhelming so all tips are welcome.

Long island investors please chime in to! 

thank you!