Moving to the Bay Area | How reasonable is house hacking?

[Sahir Noorani]

I'm new to real estate and recently got a new job in the Bay Area that pays really well.  I've always wanted to get into real estate and figured this new job will give me the right income to get into it and really help me start building wealth and earn cash flow on the side. 

I wanted to get a better understanding of what the market looks like down in the bay area and California in general.  I'm open to house hacking or finding an investment property that's a few hours out that I could reasonably manage by putting in time on the weekends or getting a property manager.  From what I've looked at on Redfin, there aren't too many opportunities to house hack since the property prices are insane so I'm leaning towards finding an investment property maybe outside of the Bay and more near Fresno or up north in Sacramento. 

Would appreciate some ideas/input from someone who knows the area and has experience!