Rent in one city, invest in another, how can I scale from here?

[Jonathan Carmel]

Hi everyone, I currently live / rent in Los Angeles and have an investment property in St. Petersburg, FL. I'm looking for strategies to buy my second property, but can't decide whether to try and house hack in LA or continue honing in on the Florida market. I've thought about selling in Florida and doing a 1031 exchange to build equity in Los Angeles, I've thought about a HELOC or home equity loan to buy a second property in Florida, etc.

Does anyone have thoughts / strategies on how best to scale from here? I'm itching to continue buying, but can't decide which direction to move. 

Thank you!