NEWBIE Real Estate Investor

[Andres S Menendez]

Hey Good Day to all

This is my first Post so I guess I should say a little about myself and my journey. 

My name is Andres and I've been curious about Real Estate investing for a while now. I've worked my butt off in my job and I've managed to  save up about 115K (and counting because Im still working FT). 

I want to leave roughly 15K for emergency and invest the other 100K. I live in a very expensive area (Queens, New York) and I'm looking for a multifamily property to possibly house hack. I've looked for a bit but not too in-depth but I know properties out here are ridiculously expensive.

I don't mind going to the surrounding areas (NJ or NY state) but I would like it to be accessible to manhattan via Train and a drivable distance.

my question is, does anyone have any experience with buying properties in NJ, upstate, Long Island, even maybe eastern PA (big maybe). 

looking for a good ROI and somewhere not too far from the Boroughs. Reason being is that my father is pretty handy and is willing to assist me in any renovation needed for the property and I wouldn't want him to travel a crazy amount.

But my biggest concern is really the ROI and property taxes. I want to get a good idea and make an informed decision from more experienced people before making the jump. (New York to New Jersey, PA, LI, etc.)

I would greatly appreciate the help. 

THANKS!!